A case of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) successfully treated with mizoribine (Bredinin)

Mizoribine, a novel immunosuppressive agent developed in Japan, was administered as a monotherapy to a systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patient with the clinical symptoms and immunological abnormalities accompanying SLE showing marked improvement. The result of prolonged administration over 22 months in this case showed neither relapse nor side-effects. Reports have been made about mizoribine used concomitantly with steroids in the treatment of SLE; however, there have not been any reports of mizoribine as a monotherapy for SLE being effective. In this case, mizoribine (150 mg/day) was administered without steroids as a monotherapy on a outpatient basis since the patient's condition overall was relatively good and the serious complications of the heart, kidneys, and lungs that accompany SLE were not observed. The results of this treatment showed improvements in alopecia, arthritis, and systemic malaise from about the 4th week after the start of administration, and the clinical symptoms that accompany SLE had completely disappeared in the 8th week. Also, the immunological tests markedly improved. Four months after the start of administration the immunological abnormalities in the anti-DNA antibody, rheumatoid factor, and immune complex were completely corrected. This case showed dramatic improvement in the SLE clinical symptoms and immunological abnormalities with the mizoribine monotherapy as well as the potential for mizoribine monotherapy to maintain a state of remission over the long term.     

Physico-chemical, photoelectrochemical and photocatalytic properties of electrodeposited nanocrystalline titanium dioxide thin films

Crystal structure and microstructural properties of titanium dioxide (TiO₂) thin films prepared by cathodic electrodeposition on indium-tin-oxide coated glass substrates from aqueous peroxo-titanium complex solutions have been investigated. The electrodeposited TiO₂ thin film electrode exhibited anodic photocurrent upon visible light irradiation, indicating the typical behavior of n-type semiconductor. The photodecomposition of CH₃CHO by such thin films on exposure to ultraviolet light illumination was also observed.     

Powder design for UV-attenuating agent with high transparency for visible light

To design high-performance ultraviolet (UV)-attenuating agent for dispersion type of functional paints and/or cosmetic powders, nano-meter size of zinc oxide (ZnO) powder was immobilized onto the surface of 4 m square size of crystalline sheet (H-ilerite: synthetic polysilicic acid (PSA)). A high-speed elliptical-rotor-type powder mixer (HEM) was applied for exfoliating in a sheet one by one from the PSA agglomerates without breakage of the original shape and for arranging the ZnO in the mono-particle layer on the sheet during dispersing the self-coagulative ultra-fine ZnO. The critical operating conditions of the HEM were determined by an observation of the morphological change of PSA. Optical characteristics of the compounded powder (ZnO-PSA) were evaluated in the form of suspension dispersed into polymer medium. The UV-attenuating effect was confirmed in the UVA region (320–400 nm) and the heat treatment after immobilization was one of the effective methods to get higher transparency for visible light.     

Imaging polarimetry and retinal blood vessel quantification at the epiretinal membrane

We evaluated a polarimetry method to enhance retinal blood vessels masked by the epiretinal membrane. Depolarized light images were computed by removing the polarization retaining light reaching the instrument and were compared with parallel polarized light images, average reflectance images, and the corresponding images at 514 nm. Contrasts were computed for retinal vessel profiles for arteries and veins. Contrasts were higher in the 514 nm images in normal eyes but higher in the depolarized light image in the eyes with epiretinal membranes. Depolarized light images were useful for examining the retinal vasculature in the presence of retinal disease.     

Effects and Related Mechanisms of the Senolytic Agent ABT-263 on the Survival of Irradiated A549 and Ca9-22 Cancer Cells

Senolytic agents eliminate senescent cells and are expected to reduce senescent cell-mediated adverse effects in cancer therapy. However, the effects of senolytic agents on the survival of irradiated cancer cells remain unknown. Here, the effects of the senolytic agent ABT-263 on the survival of irradiated A549 and Ca9-22 cancer cells were investigated. ABT-263 was added to the culture medium after irradiation. SA-β-gal activity and cell size, which are hallmarks of cell senescence, were evaluated using a flow cytometer. The colony-forming assay and annexin V staining were performed to test cell survival. We first confirmed that radiation increased the proportion of cells with high SA-β-gal activity and that ABT-263 decreased it. Of note, ABT-263 decreased the survival of irradiated cancer cells and increased the proportion of radiation-induced annexin V⁺ cells. Furthermore, the caspase inhibitor suppressed the ABT-263-induced decrease in the survival of irradiated cells. Intriguingly, ABT-263 decreased the proportion of SA-β-gal low-activity/large cells in the irradiated A549 cells, which was recovered by the caspase inhibitor. Together, these findings suggest that populations maintaining the ability to proliferate existed among the irradiated cancer cells showing senescence-related features and that ABT-263 eliminated the population, which led to decreased survival of irradiated cancer cells.     

Improvement of tracking accuracy of double-column machining center with high-speed and high-acceleration driving

This paper presents the technologies for high-precision machining with high-speed and high-acceleration driving of feed-axis of double-column machining centers. In the proposed approach, linear motors whose stator has no magnet are adopted to the feed-axis to realize the high-speed and high-acceleration driving. In addition, the characteristic of generating little heat is necessary for this linear motor to keep out thermal deformations of the machine structure. In the proposed approach, the force pulsation of linear motor is reduced by arranging magnets and canceling effects of two sliders. As a result, the motor position can be controled with high accuracy. Moreover, the high-acceleration causes deflections of the machine structure such as a column. The deflections cause tracking errors at the cutting point of the tool, even if the motor position follows the position command correctly. Then, we propose to adopt the feedforward compensation based on the measured mechanical deflections. Experimental verifications using MCR-H (double-column machining center) show the significant performance improvement of the proposed method. Copyright © 2009 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.