The effects of R-75,317 on antiglomerular basement membrane glomerulonephritis in rats

Platelet-activating factor (PAF) is a potent inflammatory mediator which is released by various inflammatory cells and produced by certain tissues, including the kidney. PAF has been shown to increase glomerular permeability to protein and to decrease glomerular filtration rate (GFR) by contracting mesangium. On the basis of these observations, it has been suspected that PAF may play a role as mediator of glomerular damage in glomerular nephritis. To examine this possibility, we studied the effects of a specific PAF antagonist, R-75,317, on the development of an experimental model of anti-glomerular basement membrane (anti-GBM) glomerulonephritis. Glomerulonephritis was initiated by injecting rabbit anti-rat GBM serum into rats. Proteinuria gradually developed after serum injection, plateaued at week 2, and remained at the high level of week 2 throughout the experimental period (6 wk). Chronic treatment with R-75,317 (10 mg/kg/day i.p.) tended to delay the onset of proteinuria and significantly accelerated the recovery phase. Creatinine clearance (Ccr) fell to 40% at week 3. R-75,317 treatment completely prevented this decline of Ccr. Histological changes in this model (glomerular hypertrophy, proliferation of mesangial matrix and interstitial fibrosis) were also ameliorated by the R-75,317 treatment. The results suggest that PAF may play a role in the development of glomerulonephritis and that PAF antagonists could be used in the treatment of human renal disease. Based on a paper presented at the Third International Conference on Platelet-Activating Factor and Structurally Related Alkyl Ether Lipids, May 1989.     

Experimental analyses for electronic structure of barium zirconate-strontium zirconate proton-conducting solid solution

In proton-conducting oxides, analyses for their electronic structure contribute to the understanding of interactions between defects in them. In this study, electronic band alignment of (1−x)BaZr_0.8Y_0.2O_3−δ(BZY)–xSrZr_0.95Y_0.05O_3−δ(SZY) proton-conducting solid-solution system (BSZY) which has high defect concentration and the deep valence band is experimentally investigated. By using thin-film specimens for optical absorption measurements, absorption edges derived from electron transition from the valence band to the conduction band which was insensitive to the proton incorporation were clearly observed in spite of the high defect concentration. The obtained optical band gap energy increased from 5.61 to 5.89 eV with increasing x, which was consistent with a composition dependence of Zr(Y)O₆ octahedral tilting. Ultraviolet photon-yield spectroscopy (UV-PYS) measurements under vacuum condition revealed that BZY and SZY had ionization energy of 6.98 and 7.31 eV, respectively, and thus the absolute energy levels of the valence band maximum and the conduction band minimum of BSZY were experimentally clarified. We propose that the combination of the optical absorption measurements using thin-film specimens and the UV-PYS measurements under vacuum condition is effective in evaluating fundamental electronic structures of proton-conducting oxides.     

Negative emotion recognition using multimodal physiological signals for advanced driver assistance systems

Artificial Life and Robotics - Recent advanced driver assistance systems’ (ADASs) control cars to avoid accidents, but few of them consider driver’s comfort. To realize comfortable...     

Development of categorical representations for above and below spatial relations in 3- to 7-month-old infants.

A series of experiments examined the abilities of infants to form categorical representations for the spatial relations above and below. Exp 1 provided evidence that 3–4 mo olds can form categorical representations for above and below when a diamond shape was presented above or below a horizontal bar. Exps 2 and 3 showed that 3- and 4-mo olds did not form categorical representations for above and below when a number of discriminably different shapes (e.g., a diamond, a triangle, a dot) appeared above or below the bar. These more abstract categorical representations for above and below were formed by 6- to 7-mo olds (Exp 4). The findings suggest an experientially or maturationally based trend, from concrete to abstract, in the categorical representation of common spatial relations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Suboptimal exact model matching for multivariable systems withmeasurement noise

This paper describes a method for the design of discrete-time model matching control systems for a multivariable plant with measurement noise. This method uses a new parametrization for model matching controllers. Simulation results are presented which confirm the validity of the design method     

Development of smart composite structures with small-diameter fiber Bragg grating sensors for damage detection: Quantitative evaluation of delamination length in CFRP laminates using Lamb wave sensing

The authors and Hitachi Cable, Ltd. have recently developed small-diameter optical fiber and its fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensor for embedment inside a lamina of composite laminates without strength reduction. The outside diameters of the cladding and polyimide coating are 40 and 52 μm, respectively. First, a brief summary is presented for applications of small-diameter FBG sensors to damage monitoring in composite structures. Then, we propose a new damage detection system for quantitative evaluation of delamination length in CFRP laminates using Lamb wave sensing. In this system, a piezo-ceramic actuator generates Lamb waves in a CFRP laminate. After the waves propagate in the laminate, transmitted waves are received by an FBG sensor attached on or embedded in the laminate using a newly developed high-speed optical wavelength interrogation system. This system was applied to detect interlaminar delamination in CFRP cross-ply laminates. When the Lamb waves passed through the delamination, the amplitude decreased and a new wave mode appeared. These phenomena could be well simulated using a finite element analysis. From the changes in the amplitude ratio and the arrival time of the new mode depending on the delamination length, it was found that this system could evaluate the delamination length quantitatively. Furthermore, small-diameter FBG sensors were embedded in a double-lap type coupon specimen, and the debonding progress could be evaluated using the wavelet transform.     

Thermal behaviour and particle size evaluation of primary clusters in a water-based magnetic fluid

This paper reports the experimental research on thermal behaviour and particle size evaluation of primary clusters of ferromagnetic nano-particles in a water-based magnetic fluid. The magnetic fluids are suspensions of ultra fine particles coated with a molecular layer of dispersant in a liquid carrier such as water or kerosene. The particles are coated with single- or double-layer of surfactant to achieve stable dispersion. Numerous experimental studies have indicated the existence of the primary cluster of ferromagnetic nano-particles in a water-based magnetic fluid. The purpose of this research is to evaluate the particle size of the primary clusters by applying the Einstein's equation for Brownian motion assuming that the primary cluster has a spherical-shape. The thermal behaviour of ferromagnetic nano-particles in magnetic fluids is investigated through the micro visualization using the optical darkfield microscope system and particle tracking velocimetry data processing system. Real-time visualization of the Brownian motion of primary clusters in a water-based magnetic fluid was carried out. The experimental results clarified that the primary cluster size depends upon the concentration of the ferromagnetic nano-particle in the magnetic fluid.     

Detection method of emerging leading papers using time transition

To survive worldwide competitions of research and development in the current rapid increase of information, decision-makers and researchers need to be supported to find promising research fields and papers. But finding those fields from an available data in too much heavy flood of information becomes difficult. We aim to develop a methodology supporting to find emerging leading papers with a bibliometric approach. The analyses in this work are about four academic domains using our time transition analysis. In the time transition analysis, after citation networks are constructed, centralities of each paper are calculated and their changes are tracked. Then, the centralities are plotted, and the features of the leading papers are extracted. Based on the features, we proposed ways to detect the leading papers by focusing on in-degree centrality and its transition. This work will contribute to finding the leading paper, and it is useful for decision-makers and researchers to decide the worthy research topic to invest their resources.     

Emerging Immunotherapy for Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Several immune checkpoint molecules and immune targets in leukemic cells have been investigated. Recent studies have suggested the potential clinical benefits of immuno-oncology (IO) therapy against acute myeloid leukemia (AML), especially targeting CD33, CD123, and CLL-1, as well as immune checkpoint inhibitors (e.g., anti-PD (programmed cell death)-1 and anti-CTLA4 (cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4) antibodies) with or without conventional chemotherapy. Early-phase clinical trials of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T or natural killer (NK) cells for relapsed/refractory AML showed complete remission (CR) or marked reduction of marrow blasts in a few enrolled patients. Bi-/tri-specific antibodies (e.g., bispecific T-cell engager (BiTE) and dual-affinity retargeting (DART)) exhibited 11–67% CR rates with 13–78% risk of cytokine-releasing syndrome (CRS). Conventional chemotherapy in combination with anti-PD-1/anti-CTLA4 antibody for relapsed/refractory AML showed 10–36% CR rates with 7–24 month-long median survival. The current advantages of IO therapy in the field of AML are summarized herein. However, although cancer vaccination should be included in the concept of IO therapy, it is not mentioned in this review because of the paucity of relevant evidence.