ABSTRACT
The scientific and technical advances continue to support novel discoveries by allowing scientists to acquire new insights into the structure and properties of matter using new tools and sources. Notably, neutrons are among the most valuable sources in providing such a capability. At the Institute of Laser Engineering, Osaka, the first steps are taken towards the development of a table-top laser-driven neutron source, capable of producing a wide range of energies with high brightness and temporal resolution. By employing a pure hydrogen moderator, maintained at cryogenic temperature, a cold neutron ([Formula: see text]) flux of [Formula: see text]/pulse was measured at the proximity of the moderator exit surface. The beam duration of hundreds of ns to tens of [Formula: see text] is evaluated for neutron energies ranging from 100s keV down to meV via Monte-Carlo techniques. Presently, with the upcoming J-EPoCH high repetition rate laser at Osaka University, a cold neutron flux in orders of [Formula: see text] is expected to be delivered at the moderator in a compact beamline.
ABSTRACT
Infrared (IR) heating processes have been studied to form a deuterium layer in an inertial confinement fusion target. To understand the relationship between the IR intensity and the fuel layering time constant, we have developed a new method to assess the IR intensity during irradiation. In our method, a glass flask acting as a dummy target is filled with liquid hydrogen (LH2) and is then irradiated with 2-µm light. The IR intensity is subsequently calculated from the time constant of the LH2 evaporation rate. Although LH2 evaporation is also caused by the heat inflow from the surroundings and by the background heat, the evaporation rate due to IR heating can be accurately determined by acquiring the time constant with and without irradiation. The experimentally measured IR intensity is 0.66 mW/cm2, which agrees well with a value estimated by considering the IR photon energy balance. Our results suggest that the present method can be used to measure the IR intensity inside a cryogenic system during IR irradiation of laser fusion targets.
ABSTRACT
A 33-year-old man who developed progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) with HIV infection is reported. The patient exhibited rapid decline in neurological status after initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART), which was attributed to the PML-immune re-constitution inflammatory syndrome. Following the administration of mefloquine in combination with ART, the patient's neurological status improved substantially. This case suggests that further investigation of the use of mefloquine might be warranted for treatment of PML in HIV-infected patients.
Subject(s)
AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections/drug therapy , Anti-HIV Agents/therapeutic use , Antiviral Agents/therapeutic use , Leukoencephalopathy, Progressive Multifocal/drug therapy , Mefloquine/therapeutic use , Adult , Anti-HIV Agents/administration & dosage , Antiviral Agents/administration & dosage , Brain/pathology , Brain/virology , Humans , JC Virus/drug effects , Leukoencephalopathy, Progressive Multifocal/pathology , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Male , Mefloquine/administration & dosage , NeuroimagingABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: There has been considerable escalation in the incidence of HIV infection in Papua New Guinea since the first cases have been reported in 1987. OBJECTIVES: The study was to identify the genetic subtype in HIV infected patients in Papua New Guinea. It is believed that the result will not only assist in tracing and tracking the sources of the infection, but will also help to evaluate the impact of the genotypes on the natural history of HIV in Papua New Guinea. METHODS: Plasma samples from eighty patients were definitively tested for HIV antibodies at PNG Central Public Health Laboratory using Welcome ELISA, Serodia, Immuno Comb and Hexagon. The samples were also tested for Hepatitis B (HBsAG and HBcAG) and Hepatitis C virus antibodies. The HIV positive samples were reconfirmed by the Western Blot analysis; RNA isolation and reverse transcription. DNA sequencing and phylogenetic analysis and determination of HIV subtypes were determined by using representative sequences A-H, J, N and 0 in the Los Alamos Database. RESULTS: The total number of HIV-1 positive patients' samples was 20 (5 females and 15 males) Out of this, 11 (all males) were successfully subtyped as c (91%) and b (9%) showing the predominant type to be subtype C. Nine isolates were designated not typable. This is attributable to either low viral load or new emerging strains that could not be detected by the database used in phylogenetic analysis. CONCLUSION: Data predicts that there is possible emergence of BC circulating recombinant form (CRF) because we also identified subtype B. We suggest that as subtype C remains a guide for tracking the sources of infection in PNG that both subtypes C and B (and any other subtypes that may be identified in future) be included in the future vaccine for use in Papua New Guinea since some potential vaccines work only against particular subtypes assuming that nearly all subtypes identified so far are responsive to ant-retroviral drugs.
Subject(s)
DNA, Viral/genetics , HIV Infections/genetics , HIV-1/genetics , HIV-1/isolation & purification , Adolescent , Adult , Base Sequence , Child , DNA, Viral/analysis , Female , Genotype , HIV Infections/epidemiology , HIV Infections/virology , HIV-1/classification , Humans , Incidence , Male , Middle Aged , Molecular Sequence Data , Papua New Guinea/epidemiology , Phylogeny , Polymerase Chain Reaction , Population Surveillance , Reverse Transcription , Socioeconomic Factors , Viral Load , Young AdultABSTRACT
A very exotic process of ß-delayed fission of 180Tl is studied in detail by using resonant laser ionization with subsequent mass separation at ISOLDE (CERN). In contrast to common expectations, the fission-fragment mass distribution of the post-ß-decay daughter nucleus 180Hg (N/Z=1.25) is asymmetric. This asymmetry is more surprising since a mass-symmetric split of this extremely neutron-deficient nucleus would lead to two 90Zr fragments, with magic N=50 and semimagic Z=40. This is a new type of asymmetric fission, not caused by large shell effects related to fragment magic proton and neutron numbers, as observed in the actinide region. The newly measured branching ratio for ß-delayed fission of 180Tl is 3.6(7) × 10(-3)%, approximately 2 orders of magnitude larger than in an earlier study.
ABSTRACT
Mutations in the human CC chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5) gene may alter the expression or function of the protein product, thereby altering chemokine binding/signalling or human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection of the cells that normally express CCR5 protein. We performed a systematic survey of natural sequence variations in an 8.1-kb region of the entire CCR5 gene as well as CCR2V64I in 50 Japanese subjects and evaluated the effects of those variations on CCR5 promoter activity. We also analysed CCR5 promoters and CCR2V64I in 80 more Japanese and 186 Thais. There was no 32-bp deletion observed in Caucasians, but two types of non-synonymous substitutions were found in CCR5 genes of Japanese. Our results showed several novel characteristics of the CCR2-CCR5 haplotype structure that were not reported from studies on Caucasians and African-Americans. Specifically, we were able to show that the G allele at position -2852 from the CCR5 open reading frame in Japanese and Thais is the representative of the CCR5 promoter haplotype that was reported to be associated with rapid progression to acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in HIV-1-infected individuals. Furthermore, nearly all non-synonymous polymorphisms in Japanese CCR5 occurred in haplotypes with elevated promoter activity. We thus hypothesized that there was a certain selective pressure favouring low levels of CCR5 expression during human evolution.
Subject(s)
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/genetics , Asian People/genetics , HIV-1 , Polymorphism, Genetic , Receptors, CCR5/genetics , Alleles , Base Sequence , Disease Progression , Female , Gene Frequency , Haplotypes , Humans , Japan , Linkage Disequilibrium , Male , Molecular Sequence Data , Phylogeny , Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length , Promoter Regions, Genetic , Receptors, CCR5/classificationABSTRACT
Interleukin 7 (IL-7) is a key factor in the survival, development and proliferation of B and T lymphocytes. Elevation of plasma IL-7 has been reported in several lymphopenia cases such as HIV-1 patients. After patients started to receive antiretroviral drugs and their CD4(+) cell counts had recovered, IL-7 in plasma decreased to normal levels. There are considerable variations in the levels of plasma IL-7 as well as the rate of CD4(+) T-cell restoration. Although pre-treatment plasma IL-7 levels have been shown to be prognostic for the rate of post-treatment CD4(+) T-cell restoration, the mechanisms responsible for the variations in plasma IL-7 and rate of CD4(+) T-cell restoration are still completely unknown. In the study here, we searched for genetic polymorphisms that might affect levels of IL-7 gene expression. For this purpose, we used 1658-bp PCR-amplified fragments of the IL-7 gene containing 1470 bp of the upstream non-coding region obtained from 151 Japanese and 234 Thai subjects. We found two novel human genetic polymorphisms in the upstream non-coding region of the IL-7 gene. The luciferase reporter assay demonstrated that one of those polymorphisms could increase the gene expression of IL-7. We speculate that this polymorphism, a three base ATC deletion just upstream of an out-of-frame ATG codon in the upstream non-coding region of the IL-7 gene, reduces the efficiency of translation from the upstream, out-of-frame ATG, resulting in increased translation efficiency from the authentic ATG of IL-7. Although the frequency of this allele is very low, it would be interesting to analyse this polymorphism in HIV-1-infected individuals with different rates of immune reconstitution after treatment with a highly active antiretroviral therapy.
Subject(s)
Codon, Initiator/genetics , Interleukin-7/genetics , Polymorphism, Genetic , Protein Biosynthesis/genetics , Untranslated Regions/genetics , Base Sequence , Codon, Initiator/physiology , Gene Expression Regulation , Gene Frequency , Genes, Reporter , Genotype , Humans , Luciferases/genetics , Molecular Sequence Data , Sequence DeletionABSTRACT
The neuroradiological findings are helpful for the diagnosis of toxoplasmic encephalitis. The T1 hypersignal intensity foci on brain magnetic resonance (MR) images without contrast enhancement are presented and can be a pathognomonic sign of this disease.
Subject(s)
Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods , Toxoplasmosis, Cerebral/diagnostic imaging , AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections/diagnosis , AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections/diagnostic imaging , Adult , Animals , Antibodies, Protozoan/blood , Brain/diagnostic imaging , HIV Infections/complications , Humans , Immunoglobulin G/blood , Male , Radiography , Toxoplasma/immunology , Toxoplasmosis, Cerebral/diagnosisABSTRACT
The question that transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) provides a tumor-suppressive or a tumor promoting role is still unknown in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In the present study, we quantitatively investigated the gene expression levels of TGF-beta in liver tissues from patients with HCC. We also evaluated the prognostic importance of TGF-beta gene in HCC patients. A total of 59 patients with primary HCC who underwent hepatectomy between 1993 and 2001 were enrolled. TGF-beta gene expression levels of tumors and of noncancerous livers were analyzed by real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The percentage of apoptotic cells in tumor cells (apoptotic index: AI) was evaluated with immunohistochemistry. Also the expression of survivin protein (apoptosis inhibitor) in tumors was detected by immunohistochemistry. TGF-beta gene expression levels of tumors were compared with clinicopathological findings of patients. The relative expression level of TGF-beta mRNA of 59 tumor tissues did not differ from those of 8 normal liver tissues or 59 noncancerous liver tissues. The mean AI of 29 tumors with normal expression levels of TGF-beta gene (4%) was significantly higher than that of 30 tumors with low expression levels of TGF-beta gene (2.5%, p = 0.03). Thirteen out of 30 tumors (43%) with low expression level of TGF-P gene showed survivin positive, while only 4 out of 29 tumors (14%) with preserved expression of TGF-beta gene showed survivin positive. This difference was significant (p = 0.012). The overall 5-year survival rate of 29 patients with tumors with preserved TGF-beta gene prolonged to 72% compared with that of 30 patients who had tumors with suppressed TGF-beta gene (58%, p = 0.156). In HCC, TGF-beta gene may play a defensive role against tumor progression by regulating survivin protein expression and by controlling occurrence of spontaneous apoptosis in tumors.
Subject(s)
Biomarkers, Tumor/genetics , Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/genetics , Gene Expression , Liver Neoplasms/genetics , Transforming Growth Factors/genetics , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/pathology , Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/surgery , Female , Humans , Immunohistochemistry , Liver/metabolism , Liver Neoplasms/pathology , Liver Neoplasms/surgery , Male , Middle Aged , Prognosis , RNA, Messenger/genetics , Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction , Survival RateSubject(s)
Cord Blood Stem Cell Transplantation/methods , Fetal Blood/transplantation , Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma/therapy , Adult , Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active , CD4 Lymphocyte Count , CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes/cytology , Disease-Free Survival , Female , Fusion Proteins, bcr-abl/metabolism , HIV Infections/complications , HIV Infections/drug therapy , HIV Seropositivity , Humans , Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain ReactionSubject(s)
Psoriasis/epidemiology , Psoriasis/pathology , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Arthritis, Psoriatic/epidemiology , Arthritis, Psoriatic/pathology , Brazil/epidemiology , Chi-Square Distribution , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Prevalence , Statistics, NonparametricABSTRACT
We aimed to determine the effectiveness of using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect Toxoplasma gondii in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) specimens from Japanese patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1. Twenty-six HIV-positive individuals presenting with focal neurological signs and a possible diagnosis of T. gondii encephalitis (TE) were enrolled in the study between April 1997 and March 2003. Eight patients were diagnosed as having TE using the accepted diagnostic criteria; PCR amplified the T. gondii B1 gene in CSF samples from five of these eight patients. CSF samples from the 18 patients without TE were negative for T. gondii DNA. The sensitivity, specificity and positive and negative predictive values for detecting T. gondii in CSF using PCR were 62.5%, 100%, 100% and 85.7%, respectively. These results suggest that PCR might be a clinically useful technique for detecting T. gondii DNA in patients infected with HIV showing focal neurological signs. Improvements in sensitivity are needed, however.
Subject(s)
Cerebrospinal Fluid/parasitology , HIV Seropositivity/complications , HIV-1/metabolism , Nervous System Diseases/parasitology , Nervous System Diseases/virology , Polymerase Chain Reaction/methods , Toxoplasma/metabolism , Animals , DNA, Protozoan/cerebrospinal fluid , DNA, Protozoan/metabolism , Humans , Japan , Sensitivity and Specificity , Toxoplasmosis/cerebrospinal fluid , Toxoplasmosis/diagnosisABSTRACT
Forty-one dorsally displaced intra-articular fractures of the distal radius were treated by open reduction and internal fixation with the dorsal Symmetry plates. The average age at the time of the injury was 49 years. An average follow-up period was 15 months. The final radial length averaged 11 mm, radial inclination 23 degrees, volar tilt 7 degrees, ulnar variance 1.5 mm, and articular incongruity 0.3 mm. According to the Gartland and Werly scales, 36 fractures were excellent and five were good. However, ulnar variance increased more than 3 mm during follow-up in eight patients, and volar tilt increased more than 5 degrees during follow-up in ten patients. Use of dorsal Symmetry plate is effective for unstable comminuted intra-articular distal radius fractures, but severely comminuted fractures may possibly undergo re-displacement post-operatively.
Subject(s)
Bone Plates , Fracture Fixation, Internal , Fractures, Comminuted/surgery , Radius Fractures/surgery , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Female , Fractures, Comminuted/diagnostic imaging , Fractures, Comminuted/physiopathology , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Osteoarthritis/diagnostic imaging , Radiography , Radius Fractures/diagnostic imaging , Radius Fractures/physiopathology , Range of Motion, Articular/physiology , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) specimens from 88 patients (33 infected with human immunodeficiency virus [HIV], 45 non-HIV immunosuppressed patients and 10 immunocompetent patients with primary pulmonary disease) were analysed for the presence of Cryptococcus neoformans. Staining, culture and an antigen testing were performed, and C. neoformans ribosomal DNA (rDNA) detected using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). C. neoformans was detected, by staining and culture, in BAL specimens from two HIV-infected patients with pulmonary cryptococcosis, and the antigen test and rDNA assay were also positive in these samples. C. neoformans rDNA was detected by PCR in a non-HIV immunocompromised patient with Pneumocystis pneumonia, whose staining, culture and antigen tests were negative. The antigen test was positive for an immunocompetent patient with sarcoidosis, while staining, culture and the PCR assay were negative. These results do not support routine testing of BAL specimens for C. neoformans rDNA.
Subject(s)
Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid/microbiology , Cryptococcosis/diagnosis , Cryptococcus neoformans/genetics , DNA, Bacterial/analysis , DNA, Ribosomal/analysis , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Antigens, Bacterial/analysis , Child , Female , HIV Infections/complications , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Polymerase Chain Reaction/methods , Sensitivity and SpecificityABSTRACT
Sawtooth oscillations have been observed in current-carrying helical plasmas by using electron-cyclotron-emission diagnostics in the Large Helical Device. The plasma current, which is driven by neutral beam injection, reduces the beta threshold of the sawtooth oscillation. When the central q value is increased due to the plasma current, the core region crashes, and, when it is decreased, the edge region crashes annularly. Observed rapid mixture of the plasma in the limited region suggests that these sawtooth crashes are reconnection phenomena. Unlike previous experiments, no precursor oscillation has been observed.
ABSTRACT
Hepatitis B virus (HBV) has seven genotypes, A to G. Previous studies have shown that genotype C is the most prevalent strain in chronic HBV carriers in East Asia. This study was undertaken to investigate the epidemiology of HBV genotypes among Japanese patients who are coinfected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). The sequences of the complete hepatitis B surface antifen (HBsAg) genes were obtained from 18 coinfected Japanese patients. Among the 18 patients, 12 of 13 men who had sex with men (MSM) had genotype A (92%), whereas only one of five heterosexual or hemophiliac patients had genotype A. The predominance of genotype A HBV in MSM showed a striking contrast to the current genotype prevalence in the Japanese population. Owing to the recent decrease in the rate of vertical transmission in Japan, the role of sexual behavior in the transmission of HBV cannot be overestimated. Thus, the relative proportion of genotype A may gradually increase in Japan.
Subject(s)
Genes, Viral , HIV Infections/complications , HIV-1 , Hepatitis B virus/genetics , Hepatitis B, Chronic/complications , Adult , Base Sequence , Female , Genotype , HIV Infections/virology , Hepatitis B Surface Antigens/genetics , Hepatitis B virus/classification , Hepatitis B, Chronic/epidemiology , Heterosexuality , Homosexuality, Male , Humans , Japan/epidemiology , Male , Middle Aged , Molecular Sequence Data , Risk FactorsABSTRACT
Human parvovirus B19 (B19) has been described as a causative agent of chronic anemia in human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1)-infected patients. We report an HIV-1 infected patient who had been receiving anti-retroviral therapy who showed sudden pancytopenia. Primary B19 infection was confirmed by the detection of plasma viremia and seroconversion. Although clearance required a prolonged period of time, the patient eventually cleared the B19 viral DNA from the plasma. More than likely, highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART), including a protease inhibitor, played a role in clearing the virus.
Subject(s)
AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections/virology , Anti-HIV Agents/therapeutic use , Erythema Infectiosum/virology , Pancytopenia/virology , Parvovirus B19, Human/isolation & purification , AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections/diagnosis , Acute Disease , Adult , Antibodies, Viral/blood , Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active , CD4 Lymphocyte Count , DNA Primers/chemistry , DNA, Viral/analysis , Erythema Infectiosum/diagnosis , Humans , Immunoglobulin G/blood , Immunoglobulin M/blood , Male , Pancytopenia/diagnosis , Parvovirus B19, Human/genetics , Polymerase Chain Reaction , Viremia/diagnosis , Viremia/virologyABSTRACT
A reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the simultaneous quantitative determination of five HIV protease inhibitors (i.e. indinavir, amprenavir, saquinavir, ritonavir and nelfinavir) in human plasma is described. An aliquot of 500 microl plasma was extracted with 0.5 ml of 0.1 M NH4OH and 5 ml of methyl tert.-butyl ether. After evaporating, the residue was dissolved in eluent mixture of acetonitrile and 50 mM KH2PO4 adjusted to pH 5.6 with 50 mM Na2HPO4 (43:57, v/v). Subsequently, the eluent was washed with hexane. Chromatography was performed using a C18 reversed-phase column. Ultraviolet detection at 215 nm was used. Linearity of the method was obtained in the concentration range of 0.05-20 microg ml(-1) for all five protease inhibitors. Our method is now in use to analyse plasma samples from patients treated with co-administration of HIV protease inhibitors.