Transarterial ethiodised oil marking before CT-guided renal cryoablation: evaluation of tumour visibility in various renal cell carcinoma subtypes.

AIM: To evaluate ethiodised oil retention of transarterial embolisation using ethiodised oil (ethiodised oil marking) before computed tomography (CT)-guided percutaneous cryoablation (PCA) according to renal cell carcinoma (RCC) subtype. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ethiodised oil marking was performed 1-3 days before PCA in 99 patients with 99 RCCs from 2016 to 2020. Ethiodised oil retention on CT images was evaluated retrospectively and CT attenuation values in the tumour were measured. Regions of interest (ROI) were placed on the tumours to calculate: average (ROI-average), maximal (ROI-max), minimum (ROI-min), and standard deviation (ROI-SD). Qualitative scores comprising a five-point scale (5, excellent; 1, poor) were evaluated for the retention scores (RS) of ethiodised oil in the tumour (ethiodised oil-RS) and the visualisation scores (VS) of the boundary between the tumour and renal parenchyma (boundary-VS). RESULTS: The histological subtypes comprised clear cell (ccRCC; n=85), papillary (pRCC; n=6), and chromophobe/oncocytoma renal cell carcinoma (chrRCC; n=8). The mean ROI-average, ROI-max, and ROI-SD were significantly higher in ccRCCs than in chrRCCs and pRCCs (p<0.05). The mean ethiodised oil-RS was significantly lower in pRCCs than in ccRCCs (p=0.039), and the mean boundary-VS was >4 in all subtypes. Even with poor intratumour ethiodised oil retention (n=6), sufficient boundary-VS was obtained due to "inverted marking." All PCA procedures were completed without additional intravenous contrast material injection at the time of PCA. CONCLUSION: Regardless of the tumour subtypes, ethiodised oil marking aids in visualising the boundary between the tumour and parenchyma on non-contrast CT in PCA.

Smallest Optical Gap for Pt(II)-Pt(IV) Mixed-Valence Pt-Cl and Pt-Br Chain Complexes Achieved by Using a Multiple-Hydrogen-Bond Approach.

A multiple-hydrogen-bond approach was applied to shorten Pt-X-Pt distances in Cl- and Br-bridged Pt chain complexes. [Pt(dabdOH)2Cl]Cl2 (5) and [Pt(dabdOH)2Br]Br2 (6) (dabdOH = (2 S,3 S)-2,3-diaminobutane-1,4-diol) contain hydroxy groups, which form additional hydrogen bonds with counteranions. 5 has the shortest Pt-Cl-Pt distance (5.0747(8) Å) of all Cl-bridged Pt chain complexes reported to date. Furthermore, the smallest optical gap (1.45 eV for 5 and 1.19 eV for 6) in any Cl- or Br-bridged Pt chain complex was achieved. 6 has the highest electrical conductivity (1.9 × 10-5 S cm-1 at room temperature) of all Br-bridged Pt chain complexes. This study shows that the introduction of additional hydrogen bonds between the ligands and halides is effective to enhance the electronic properties of halogen-bridged metal complexes.

Reliability of ultrasonographic measurements of bovine sole structures in relation to sole horn thickness, measured by computed tomography, and sole horn hardness.

The goal of the present study was to determine the effect of sole horn thickness (SHT) and sole horn hardness (SHD) on ultrasonographic visualization of sole structures in the inner and outer claws of 150 Holstein-Friesian cows, and to evaluate different ultrasound frequencies for this purpose. Ultrasonographic views of the sole structure were considered complete when 3 echogenic lines, representing the ventral surface of the sole horn, the borders of the sole horn and soft-tissue layer, and the ventral surface of the distal phalanx, were seen. The proportion of complete ultrasonographic views of the sole structures, designated as the ultrasonographic visualization proportion (UVP), and the measurement errors of SHT were evaluated by comparing images from computed tomography (CT) and ultrasonography. The latter images were generated using 3 different probes, frequencies of 6.5 and 5.0 MHz, and 2 different ultrasound machines (#1 and #2) to assess the apex, middle, and heel regions of the claws. The UVP were 60.8 to 77.9% for the 6.5-MHz probe in ultrasound machine #1 (probe A), which were lower than those (>90%) for both the 5.0-MHz probe in ultrasound machine #1 (probe B) and the 5.0-MHz probe in ultrasound machine #2 (probe C). The UVP was significantly lower in claws with an SHD ≥50 units than in claws with an SHD <40 or 40 to <50 units (UVP: 77.1% compared with 93.7 and 91.4%, respectively) when measured with probe B. In claws with an SHT <10 mm, the UVP was significantly lower when SHD was ≥50 units compared with <40 or 40 to >50 units; the values were 69.0% versus 91.3 and 85.9%, respectively, for probe A, and 89.7% versus 100 and 100%, respectively, for probe B. When SHT were measured by either probes A or B in ultrasound machine #1, the proportions of claws in which ultrasonographic values were within a ±1 mm range compared with the values obtained by CT were 84.9 to 91.3% for CT-determined SHT <5 mm, 66.7 to 71.9% for CT-determined SHT 5 to <7 mm, 28.9 to 51.2% for CT-determined SHT 7 to <10 mm, and 6.2 to 19.7% for CT-determined SHT ≥10 mm. The data indicated that increased SHT was associated with a decrease in ultrasonographic measurement accuracy. In claws with an SHT <5 mm, the high proportion of ultrasonographic values that were accurate within a ±1 mm range suggests that this imaging modality would be useful in cows with thin soles.

Unusual Thermal Hall Effect in a Kitaev Spin Liquid Candidate α-RuCl_{3}.

The Kitaev quantum spin liquid displays the fractionalization of quantum spins into Majorana fermions. The emergent Majorana edge current is predicted to manifest itself in the form of a finite thermal Hall effect, a feature commonly discussed in topological superconductors. Here we report on thermal Hall conductivity κ_{xy} measurements in α-RuCl_{3}, a candidate Kitaev magnet with the two-dimensional honeycomb lattice. In a spin-liquid (Kitaev paramagnetic) state below the temperature characterized by the Kitaev interaction J_{K}/k_{B}∼80 K, positive κ_{xy} develops gradually upon cooling, demonstrating the presence of highly unusual itinerant excitations. Although the zero-temperature property is masked by the magnetic ordering at T_{N}=7 K, the sign, magnitude, and T dependence of κ_{xy}/T at intermediate temperatures follows the predicted trend of the itinerant Majorana excitations.

Effects of paraoxonase 1 on the cytodifferentiation and mineralization of periodontal ligament cells.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of paraoxonase 1 (PON1) are known to be associated with the pathogenesis of osteoporosis and periodontitis. However, the effects of PON1 on the osteoblastic differentiation of periodontal ligament (PDL) cells are unclear. In this study, we examined the effects of PON1 on the osteoblastic differentiation of PDL cells, and analysed the role of PON1 SNPs on the pathogenesis of aggressive periodontitis (AgP) in the Japanese population. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Human PDL (HPDL) cells were exposed to the PON1 plasmid and PON1 inhibitor, 2-hydroxyquinoline, and cultured in mineralization medium. Expression of calcification-related genes and calcified nodule formation were assessed by real-time PCR, an alkaline phosphatase (ALPase) activity assay and Alizarin red staining. Sanger sequencing was performed to evaluate whether PON1 SNPs are associated with the pathogenesis of AgP in Japanese people. RESULTS: During osteoblastic differentiation of HPDL cells, expression of PON1 mRNA increased in a time-dependent manner. PON1 stimulated an increase in expression of mRNA for calcification-related genes, as well as ALPase activity. In contrast, 2-hydroxyquinoline clearly inhibited the expression of calcification-related genes, ALPase activity and calcified nodule formation in HPDL cells. Moreover, there was a statistically significant difference in the minor allele frequency of PON1 SNP rs854560 between the Japanese control database and patients with AgP in the Japanese population (P = .0190). CONCLUSION: PON1 induced cytodifferentiation and mineralization of HPDL cells, and PON1 SNP rs854560 may be associated with the pathogenesis of AgP in the Japanese population.

Prognostic usefulness of arm circumference and nutritional screening tools in older patients with cardiovascular disease.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Arm circumference (AC) and nutritional screening tools have been shown to have prognostic capability in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD). This study aimed to compare the prognostic predictive capabilities of AC and nutritional screening tools in older patients with CVD. METHODS AND RESULTS: The study population consisted of 949 admitted patients ≥60 years old with CVD. Patients underwent AC measurement and nutritional screening before hospital discharge. We used the controlling nutritional status index (CONUT), the geriatric nutritional risk index (GNRI), and the prognostic nutritional index (PNI) as nutritional screening tools. The end point of the study was all-cause mortality. The mean age of the study population was 72.3 ± 7.2 years, and 68.2% of the patients were male. A total of 130 deaths occurred over a median follow-up period of 2.2 years (interquartile range, 1.1-3.8 years). After adjusting for other prognostic factors, AC (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.59; p < 0.001), CONUT (HR: 0.82; p = 0.016), GNRI (HR: 0.77; p = 0.040), and PNI (HR: 0.80; p = 0.014) were significant predictors of mortality. However, adding AC to the multivariate-adjusted model (0.739 vs. 0.714, respectively; p = 0.037), but not CONUT, GNRI, or PNI (0.724, 0.717, and 0.723 vs. 0.714; p = 0.072, p = 0.306, and p = 0.127, respectively), significantly increased the area under the curve on receiver operating characteristic curve. CONCLUSIONS: AC, but not nutritional screening tools, plays a complementary role to preexisting prognostic factors for predicting prognosis in older patients with CVD.

Thermal Hall Effect in a Phonon-Glass Ba_{3}CuSb_{2}O_{9}.

A distinct thermal Hall signal is observed in a quantum spin liquid candidate Ba_{3}CuSb_{2}O_{9}. The transverse thermal conductivity shows a power-law temperature dependence below 50 K, where a spin gap opens. We suggest that because of the very low longitudinal thermal conductivity and the thermal Hall signals, a phonon Hall effect is induced by strong phonon scattering of orphan Cu^{2+} spins formed in the random domains of the Cu^{2+}-Sb^{5+} dumbbells in Ba_{3}CuSb_{2}O_{9}.

The relationship between the daily step counts and low back pain during pregnancy.

PURPOSE: To investigate the relationship between the change of daily step counts and low back pain (LBP) during pregnancy. Materials and METHODS: Pregnant women at less than eight weeks of gestation (WG) were recruited. Daily step counts were measured with a pedometer. To assess LBP, the Oswestry disability index (ODI) score was recorded. Thirty-six individuals were divided into the LBP and non-LBP groups. The effect of step counts on LBP between the two groups was analyzed. RESULTS: At 16-19 WG, step counts were not considerably changed in the non-LBP group but were significantly increased in the LBP group. At 24-27 and 32-35 WG, step counts were increased in the non-LBP group but were significantly decreased in the LBP group. CONCLUSIONS: Acute increase of daily step counts in early pregnancy is a risk for LBP, and gradual increases of step counts after mid-pregnancy is recommended for women.

Effects of the proteasome inhibitor, bortezomib, on cytodifferentiation and mineralization of periodontal ligament cells.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The proteasome inhibitor, bortezomib, is known to induce osteoblastic differentiation in a number of cell lines, such as mesenchymal stem cells and osteoblastic precursor cells. As periodontal ligament (PDL) cells are multipotent, we examined whether bortezomib may induce the differentiation of PDL cells into hard-tissue-forming cells. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A mouse PDL clone cell line, MPDL22 cells, was cultured in mineralization medium in the presence or absence of bortezomib. Expression of calcification-related genes and calcified-nodule formation were evaluated by real-time PCR and Alizarin Red staining, respectively. RESULTS: Bortezomib increased the expression of calcification-related mRNAs, such as tissue nonspecific alkaline phosphatase isoenzyme (ALPase), bone sialoprotein (Bsp), runt-related transcription factor 2 (Runx2) and osteopontin, and calcified-nodule formation in MPDL22 cells. These effects were induced, in part, by increasing the cytosolic accumulation and nuclear translocation of ß-catenin, leading to an increase in expression of bone morphogenetic protein (Bmp)-2, -4 and -6 mRNAs. In addition, bortezomib enhanced BMP-2-induced expression of Bsp and osteopontin mRNAs and increased calcified-nodule formation in MPDL22 cells. CONCLUSION: Bortezomib induced cytodifferentiation and mineralization of PDL cells by enhancing the accumulation of ß-catenin within the cytosol and the nucleus and increasing the expression of Bmp-2, -4 and -6 mRNAs. Moreover, bortezomib enhanced the BMP-2-induced cytodifferentiation and mineralization of PDL cells, suggesting that bortezomib may be efficacious for use in periodontal regeneration therapy.

The origin and role of autophagy in the formation of cytoplasmic granules in canine lingual granular cell tumors.

Granular cell tumors (GCTs) are histologically characterized by polygonal neoplastic cells with abundant eosinophilic cytoplasmic granules. In humans, these cells are considered to be derived from Schwann cells, and the cytoplasmic granules are assumed to be autophagosomes or autophagolysosomes. However, the origin and nature of the cytoplasmic granules in canine GCTs have not been well characterized. The present study examined 9 canine lingual GCTs using immunohistochemistry, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and cell culture and xenotransplantation experiments. In some cases, the tumor cells expressed S100, CD133, and desmin. The cytoplasmic granules were positive for LC3, p62, NBR1, and ubiquitin. TEM revealed autophagosome-like structures in the cytoplasm of the granule-containing cells. The cultured GCT cells were round to spindle shaped and expressed S100, nestin, Melan-A, CD133, LC3, p62, NBR1, and ubiquitin, suggesting that they were of neural crest origin, redifferentiated into melanocytes, and exhibited upregulated autophagy. The xenotransplanted tumors consisted of spindle to polygonal cells. Only a few cells contained cytoplasmic granules, and some had melanin pigments in their cytoplasm. The xenotransplanted cells expressed S100, nestin, Melan-A, and CD133. P62 and ubiquitin were detected, regardless of the presence or absence of cytoplasmic granules, while LC3 and NBR1 were detected only in the neoplastic cells containing cytoplasmic granules. These findings suggest that some xenotransplanted cells redifferentiated into melanocytes and that autophagy was upregulated in the cytoplasmic granule-containing cells. In conclusion, canine lingual GCTs originate from the neural crest and develop cytoplasmic granules via autophagy. In addition, the microenvironment of GCT cells affects their morphology.

Influence of genetic and environmental factors on oral diseases and function in aged twins.

This study was conducted to quantify the genetic and environmental contributions to oral disease and function in twins. Participants were middle-aged and old twins, 116 monozygotic and 16 dizygotic pairs whose mean age was 66·1 ± 10·3 (SD) years. Number of teeth, percentage of decayed, filled and missing teeth and periodontal status were recorded as indicators of oral disease. The widths of upper and lower dental arch served as indicators of morphological figures. Furthermore, stimulated salivary flow rate, occlusal force and masticatory performance were measured as indicators of oral function. Univariate genetic analysis with monozygotic and dizygotic twin pairs was conducted to detect the fittest structural equation model of each outcome. Both number of teeth and periodontal status fitted the model composed of common environmental factor and unique environmental factor. Decayed, filled and missing teeth, morphological figures and measurements of oral function fitted the model composed of additive genetic factor and unique environmental factor. The model fitting of each measurement suggested that periodontal disease was mainly affected by environmental factors, while morphological figures and oral functions were influenced by both genetic and environmental factors.

Selenium recovery from kiln powder of cement manufacturing by chemical leaching and bioreduction.

A novel process by using chemical leaching followed by bacterial reductive precipitation was proposed for selenium recovery from kiln powder as a byproduct of cement manufacturing. The kiln powder at a slurry concentration of 10 w/v% with 0.25 M Na2CO3 at 28°C produced wastewater containing about 30 mg-Se/L selenium. The wastewater was diluted four-fold and adjusted to pH 8.0 as preconditioning for bioreduction. A bacterial strain Pseudomonas stutzeri NT-I, capable of reducing selenate and selenite into insoluble elemental selenium, could recover about 90% selenium from the preconditioned wastewater containing selenium of 5 mg-Se/L when supplemented with lactate or glycerol. The selenium concentrations in the treated wastewater were low around the regulated effluent concentration of 0.1 mg-Se/L in Japan.

Excitation-photon-energy selectivity of photoconversions in halogen-bridged Pd-chain compounds: Mott insulator to metal or charge-density-wave state.

Ultrafast photoinduced transitions of a one-dimensional Mott insulator into two distinct electronic phases, metal and charge-density-wave (CDW) state, were achieved in a bromine-bridged Pd-chain compound [Pd(en)2Br](C5-Y)2H2O (en=ethylenediamine and C5-Y=dialkylsulfosuccinate), by selecting the photon energy of a femtosecond excitation pulse. For the resonant excitation of the Mott-gap transition, excitonic states are generated and converted to one-dimensional CDW domains. For the higher-energy excitation, free electron and hole carriers are produced, giving rise to a transition of the Mott insulator to a metal. Such selectivity in photoconversions by the choice of initial photoexcited states opens a new possibility for the developments of advanced optical switching and memory functions.

Search for bosonic superweakly interacting massive dark matter particles with the XMASS-I detector.

Bosonic superweakly interacting massive particles (super-WIMPs) are a candidate for warm dark matter. With the absorption of such a boson by a xenon atom, these dark matter candidates would deposit an energy equivalent to their rest mass in the detector. This is the first direct detection experiment exploring the vector super-WIMPs in the mass range between 40 and 120 keV. With the use of 165.9 day of data, no significant excess above background was observed in the fiducial mass of 41 kg. The present limit for the vector super-WIMPs excludes the possibility that such particles constitute all of dark matter. The absence of a signal also provides the most stringent direct constraint on the coupling constant of pseudoscalar super-WIMPs to electrons. The unprecedented sensitivity was achieved exploiting the low background at a level 10(-4) kg-1 keVee-1 day-1 in the detector.

Lactobacillus helveticus SBT2171, a cheese starter, regulates proliferation and cytokine production of immune cells.

Consumption of a Lactobacillus helveticus SBT2171 (LH2171)-containing cheese has been reported to exhibit immunoregulatory actions, including an increase in regulatory T cell population and reduction in proinflammatory cytokine production in mice. We examined the in vitro effects of LH2171 cells per se on immune cell function, specifically proliferation and cytokine production, which are primary reactions of the immune response. Immune cell fractions were prepared by mechanical disruption of mesenteric lymph nodes (MLN), Peyer's patches (PP), and spleens (SP) of mice. The cell fractions were dispensed into a culture plate and stimulated with anti-CD3/CD28 antibody beads in place of antigen-presenting cells or lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in the presence or absence of heat-treated LH2171 cells and other bacterial strains for comparison. After incubation, proliferation, cytokine production, and cell viability of the immune cells were determined. The LH2171 significantly inhibited the proliferation of MLN immune cells stimulated with anti-CD3/CD28 compared with other bacterial strains. The antiproliferative potency of LH2171 was effective not only on MLN but also on PP and SP stimulated with anti-CD3/CD28 or LPS. The LH2171 also decreased LPS-stimulated IL-6 production from MLN, PP, and SP, and IL-1ß production from SP, but LH2171 did not affect the viability of immune cells. The LH2171 inhibited immune cell proliferation and proinflammatory cytokine (IL-6 and IL-1ß) production. The inhibitory actions were not due to cytotoxicity to immune cells, suggesting that LH2171 is a dairy Lactobacillus strain with beneficial immunoregulatory properties.

Acoustic characteristics of voluntary expiratory sounds after swallow for detecting dysphagia.

This research was designed to investigate the acoustic characteristics of voluntary expiratory sounds after swallow for detecting dysphagia. Forty-nine patients with complaints of swallow difficulty received a videofluorographic (VF) examination. They were divided into three groups: nine who did not have any apparent disease (Group N), 22 patients with head and neck cancer (Group H&N) and 18 patients with other diseases including cerebrovascular disease (Group OD). After liquid barium swallows, they exhaled voluntarily without voicing. Videofluorographic findings were classified into four groups: normal (Normal), acceptable swallow (Acceptable), swallow with residue (Resid) and swallows with penetration or aspiration (Pen/Asp). The duration of expiratory sounds was measured on the time waveform. Frequency characteristics of expiratory sounds were obtained using one-third octave band analysis ranging from 62·5 to 2000·0 Hz of central frequency. The averaged level of the 1000·0-Hz band was chosen as the reference band level (RB level). The revised averaged level of each band was obtained by subtracting the RB level from the averaged level of each band. Zero decibel of the revised magnitude of the 125·0-Hz band was set as the critical value to differentiate dysphagia (Resid or Pen/Asp) from no dysphagia (Normal or Acceptable). Comparison of this assessment with VF findings showed a significant percentage agreement (85·4%). These results suggest that frequency characteristics of post-swallow expiratory sounds can differentiate dysphagia from no dysphagia among multiple dysphagic patient groups.

Nodal versus nodeless behaviors of the order parameters of LiFeP and LiFeAs superconductors from magnetic penetration-depth measurements.

High-precision measurements of magnetic penetration depth λ in clean single crystals of LiFeAs and LiFeP superconductors reveal contrasting behaviors. In LiFeAs the low-temperature λ(T) shows a flat dependence indicative of a fully gapped state, which is consistent with previous studies. In contrast, LiFeP exhibits a T-linear dependence of superfluid density infinity λ(-2), indicating a nodal superconducting order parameter. A systematic comparison of quasiparticle excitations in the 1111, 122, and 111 families of iron-pnictide superconductors implies that the nodal state is induced when the pnictogen height from the iron plane decreases below a threshold value of ~1.33 Å.

Anomalous upper critical field in CeCoIn5/YbCoIn5 superlattices with a Rashba-type heavy Fermion interface.

We report a highly unusual angular variation of the upper critical field (H(c2)) in epitaxial superlattices CeCoIn(5)(n)/YbCoIn(5)(5), formed by alternating layers of n and a 5 unit-cell thick heavy-fermion superconductor CeCoIn(5) with a strong Pauli effect and normal metal YbCoIn(5), respectively. For the n=3 superlattice, H(c2)(θ) changes smoothly as a function of the field angle θ. However, close to the superconducting transition temperature, H(c2)(θ) exhibits a cusp near the parallel field (θ=0°). This cusp behavior disappears for n=4 and 5 superlattices. This sudden disappearance suggests the relative dominance of the orbital depairing effect in the n=3 superlattice, which may be due to the suppression of the Pauli effect in a system with local inversion symmetry breaking. Taking into account the temperature dependence of H(c2)(θ) as well, our results suggest that some exotic superconducting states, including a helical superconducting state, might be realized at high magnetic fields.

Scaling properties of universal tetramers.

We evidence the existence of a universal correlation between the binding energies of successive four-boson bound states (tetramers), for large two-body scattering lengths (a), related to an additional scale not constrained by three-body Efimov physics. Relevant to ultracold atom experiments, the atom-trimer relaxation peaks for |a|→∞ when the ratio between the tetramer and trimer energies is ≃4.6 and a new tetramer is formed. The new scale is also revealed for a < 0 by the prediction of a correlation between the positions of two successive peaks in the four-atom recombination process.