Ischemia with nonobstructive coronary arteries in a patient with a history of Kawasaki disease.

A 34-year-old man with a history of Kawasaki disease had been experiencing chest pain at rest since middle school. Multidetector-row computed tomography showed no aneurysm formation; however, the right coronary artery had an anomalous origin with moderate stenosis. Invasive coronary angiography revealed moderate right coronary artery stenosis with a fractional flow reserve of 0.97. Finally, with a positive acetylcholine provocation test and elevated index of microvascular resistance, the patient was diagnosed with microvascular and epicardial vasospastic angina in the endotypes of ischemia with nonobstructive coronary arteries. This is the first reported case of both microvascular and epicardial vasospastic angina after Kawasaki disease. In patients with a history of Kawasaki disease, even those without cardiac sequelae, coronary endothelial and microvascular dysfunctions should be taken into consideration. Learning objective: We report the first case of both microvascular and epicardial vasospastic angina in the endotypes of ischemia with nonobstructive coronary arteries after Kawasaki disease.Coronary endothelial and microvascular dysfunctions should be taken into consideration in patients with a history of Kawasaki disease, even those without cardiac sequelae.

Lesion of slit-like stenosis underestimated by fractional flow reserve based on computed tomography images.

This case report discusses a 74-year-old man presenting with angina pectoris. Coronary computed tomography angiography suggested only mild stenosis in the mid left anterior descending artery (LAD), with fractional flow reserve based on computed tomography images (FFRct) value of 0.87. However, coronary angiography revealed slit-like stenosis in the mid LAD, and the invasive fractional flow reserve (FFR) was measured at 0.72, demonstrating a deviation from the FFRct value.

Risk Assessment of Side Branch Compromise After Coronary Bifurcation Stenting　- A Substudy of the 3D-OCT Bifurcation Registry.

BACKGROUND: Side branch (SB) occlusion during bifurcation stenting is a serious complication. This study aimed to predict SB compromise (SBC) using optical coherence tomography (OCT).Methods and Results: Among the 168 patients who enrolled in the 3D-OCT Bifurcation Registry, 111 bifurcation lesions were analyzed to develop an OCT risk score for predicting SBC. SBC was defined as worsening of angiographic SB ostial stenosis (≥90%) immediately after stenting. On the basis of OCT before stenting, geometric parameters (SB diameter [SBd], length from proximal branching point to carina tip [BP-CT length], and distance of the polygon of confluence [dPOC]) and 3-dimensional bifurcation types (parallel or perpendicular) were evaluated. SBC occurred in 36 (32%) lesions. The parallel-type bifurcation was significantly more frequent in lesions with SBC. The receiver operating characteristic curve indicated SBd ≤1.77 mm (area under the curve [AUC]=0.73, sensitivity 64%, specificity 75%), BP-CT length ≤1.8 mm (AUC=0.83, sensitivity 86%, specificity 68%), and dPOC ≤3.96 mm (AUC=0.68, sensitivity 63%, specificity 69%) as the best cut-off values for predicting SBC. To create the OCT risk score, we assigned 1 point to each of these factors. As the score increased, the frequency of SBC increased significantly (Score 0, 0%; Score 1, 8.7%; Score 2, 28%; Score 3, 58%; Score 4, 85%; P<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Prediction of SBC using OCT is feasible with high probability.

Importance of optimal rewiring guided by 3-dimensional optical frequency domain imaging during double-kissing culotte stenting demonstrated through a novel bench model.

The usefulness of optical frequency domain imaging (OFDI) guidance on two-stenting at left main bifurcation has not been evaluated. Here, we used a novel bench model to investigate whether pre-defined optimal rewiring with OFDI-guidance decreases acute incomplete stent apposition (ISA) at the left main bifurcation segment. A novel bench simulation system was developed to simulate the foreshortening and overlapping of daughter vessels as well as left main bifurcation motion under fluoroscopy. Double-kissing (DK) culotte stenting was performed using the novel bench model under fluoroscopy with or without OFDI-guidance. In the OFDI-guidance group, if the guidewire did not pass through the pre-defined optimal cell according to the 3-dimensional OFDI, additional attempts of rewiring into the jailed side branch were performed. The success rate of optimal jailed side branch rewiring after implantation of the first and second stent under OFDI-guidance was significantly higher than that under only angio-guidance. After completion of the DK-culotte stenting, the incidence and volume of ISA at the bifurcation segment in the OFDI-guidance group was significantly lower than that in the angio-guidance group. Online 3-dimensional OFDI-guided DK-culotte stenting according to a pre-defined optimal rewiring point might be superior to only angio-guided rewiring for reducing ISA at the bifurcation.

Plasmonic Metamaterial Ag Nanostructures on a Mirror for Colorimetric Sensing.

In this study, we demonstrate the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) in the visible range by using nanostructures on mirrors. The nanohemisphere-on-mirror (NHoM) structure is based on random nanoparticles that were obtained by heat-treating silver thin films and does not require any top-down nanofabrication processes. We were able to successfully tune over a wide wavelength range and obtain full colors using the NHoM structures, which realized full coverage of the Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage (CIE) standard RGB (sRGB) color space. Additionally, we fabricated the periodic nanodisk-on-glass (NDoG) structure using electron beam lithography and compared it with the NHoM structure. Our analysis of dark-field microscopic images observed by a hyperspectral camera showed that the NHoM structure had less variation in the resonant wavelength by observation points compared with the periodic NDoG structure. In other words, the NHoM structure achieved a high color quality that is comparable to the periodic structure. Finally, we proposed colorimetric sensing as an application of the NHoM structure. We confirmed the significant improvement in performance of colorimetric sensing using the NHoM structure and succeeded in colorimetric sensing using protein drops. The ability to fabricate large areas in full color easily and inexpensively with our proposed structures makes them suitable for industrial applications, such as displays, holograms, biosensing, and security applications.

Localized surface plasmon resonance in deep ultraviolet region below 200 nm using a nanohemisphere on mirror structure.

Localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) was performed in the deep ultraviolet (UVC) region with Al nanohemisphere structures fabricated by means of a simple method using a combination of vapor deposition, sputtering, and thermal annealing without top-down nanofabrication technology such as electron beam lithography. The LSPR in the UV region was obtained and tuned by the initial metal film thickness, annealing temperature, and dielectric spacer layer thickness. Moreover, we achieved a flexible tuning of the LSPR in a much deeper UVC region below 200 nm using a nanohemisphere on a mirror (NHoM) structure. NHoM is a structure in which a metal nanohemisphere is formed on a metal substrate that is interposed with an Al2O3 thin film layer. In the experimental validation, Al and Ga were used for the metal hemispheres. The LSPR spectrum of the NHoM structures was split into two peaks, and the peak intensities were enhanced and sharpened. The shorter branch of the LSPR peak appeared in the UVC region below 200 nm. Both the peak intensities and linewidth were flexibly tuned by the spacer thickness. This structure can contribute to new developments in the field of deep UV plasmonics.

The Degree of Temporal Synchronization of the Pulse Oscillations from a Gain-Switched Multimode Semiconductor Laser.

Langevin noise leads to inhibition of the temporal synchronization of the pulse oscillations from a gain-switched multimode semiconductor laser, resulting in the power reduction in optical beat detection. In this paper, the degree of the temporal synchronization of the pulse oscillations was examined by numerically estimating the output energy in THz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) using multimode semiconductor laser rate equations that include Langevin noise. The degree was estimated to be 95.5% from the ratio of the averaged THz-TDS output energy for the case where Langevin noise was included to that for when Langevin noise was excluded. Therefore, a gain-switched multimode semiconductor laser can be regarded as equivalent to optical pulses oscillating simultaneously in all modes in actual applications including optical beat detection.

Precise measurement of single-mode fiber lengths using a gain-switched distributed feedback laser with delayed optical feedback.

A simple method to measure single-mode optical fiber lengths is proposed and demonstrated using a gain-switched 1.55-µm distributed feedback laser without a fast photodetector or an optical interferometer. From the variation in the amplified spontaneous emission noise intensity with respect to the modulation frequency of the gain switching, the optical length of a 1-km single-mode fiber immersed in water is found to be 1471.043915 m ± 33 µm, corresponding to a relative standard deviation of 2.2 × 10(-8). This optical length is an average value over a measurement time of one minute under ordinary laboratory conditions.

Conjugated linoleic acids inhibit hypoxia inducible factor-1α stabilization under hypoxic condition in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells.

The anti-cancer effects of various fatty acids are drawing a lot of attention. To determine whether different fatty acids affect the hypoxic response of liver cancer cells, we examined the effects of various fatty acids on the stabilization of the hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α protein in the HepG2 human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell line under condition containing 1% O(2). Of the fatty acids examined, only 9cis, 11trans (c9, t11)-conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and 10trans, 12cis (t10, c12)-CLA inhibited hypoxia-induced HIF-1α stabilization. In addition, HIF-1α prolyl hydroxylase or proteasome inhibition abrogated the effects of c9, t11- and t10, c12-CLA. Moreover, c9, t11- and t10, c12-CLA significantly inhibited cell proliferation and induced apoptotic cell death under hypoxia. This is the first study showing that c9, t11- and t10, c12-CLA inhibit the hypoxic response in HCC cells.

Balanced polarization maintaining fiber Sagnac interferometer vibration sensor.

To achieve a nearly zero-delay operating point in a polarization-maintaining (PM) fiber Sagnac interferometer, two identical PM fibers were incorporated so that their two main axes were orthogonally coupled to each other. A simple fiber vibration sensor system was constructed with a light emitting diode and a balanced PM fiber Sagnac interferometer, in which one of the PM fibers was used as a sensing cable and the other as a reference cable. The vibration sensor was confirmed to be temperature-compensated and generated a phase shift per unit length and unit strain of the sensor of 4.7 milliradian/(m·µÎµ) when mechanical vibrations with 1 kHz sinusoidal and triangular waves were stably observed under an input power of 10 µW.

Simple form of multimode laser diode rate equations incorporating the band filling effect.

To derive a simple form of the multimode laser diode rate equations incorporating the band filling effect, the laser diode gain in the direct bandgap model is introduced into the conventional multimode laser diode rate equations. By numerically examining each modal gain under the gain-switching condition, it is found that both the differential gain coefficient and the carrier density at transparency show an approximately linear dependency on the oscillation frequency. As a result, it is possible to derive a simple form of the multimode laser diode rate equations with linearized gain, which can be used to simulate the behaviors of a gain-switched laser diode characterized by the band filling effect, in both the multimode and single-mode oscillation cases.

Pulse-shaping of gain-switched pulse from multimode laser diode using fiber Sagnac interferometer.

We propose a pulse-tail elimination and pulse shortening method using an optical interferometer, which is effective for picosecond chirped pulses from gain-switched multimode laser diodes. In a numerical simulation, when the delay distance between a chirped pulse and its replica in an optical interferometer matches two times the round-trip optical length of the laser cavity, the pulse-front and -rear tail parts are effectively eliminated from the input chirped pulse after passing through the optical interferometer. Using this method with a fiber Sagnac interferometer, a 33 ps pulse with a long-tail emitted from a gain-switched 1540 nm multimode laser diode was linearly transformed into a 20 ps pulse with a substantially reduced tail.

Intramolecular excitation energy transfer in diarylurea-linked zinc porphyrin-anthracene dyads.

Structurally controlled zinc porphyrin-anthracene dyads, syn-arranged 1 and anti-arranged 2, were newly synthesized employing a diarylurea linkage, and the excitation energy transfer (EET) from the anthracene to the zinc porphyrin chromophore was investigated by steady-state fluorescence emission spectroscopy as well as fluorescence lifetime measurement, especially focusing on the effect of the chromophoric orientation on the EET. In both of the dyads, intramolecular EET was facilitated upon excitation of the anthracene chromophore (lamda(ex)= 401 nm), and the zinc porphyrin S1-S0 emission (580-720 nm) was enhanced. The EET in the syn-arranged dyad 1 was more efficient than in the anti-arranged 2: the S1-S0 emission in 1 was 1.8 times larger than that in the zinc porphyrin reference compound 3, whereas that in 2 was enhanced by 1.6 times, compared to that in 3. In the fluorescence lifetime measurement, the quiet short-lived component assignable to the EET was observed for the dyads 1 and 2 beyond the analysis limit (<25 ps). The EET rate constants in the dyads 1 and 2 were estimated as not less than 4.0 x 10(10) s-1. However, in the case of 2, the residual long-lived component assigned to the anthracene emission was also observed at 425 nm. These results showed that the syn-arrangement of the zinc porphyrin and anthracene chromophores was more preferred for intramolecular EET to the anti-arrangement.