This paper presents a numerical analysis on MW-class high-temperature superconducting (HTS) synchronous generator, especially focusing on damper layer design. Our research program to develop a ...large-scale HTS wind turbine generator (WTG) core technology, a two-dimensional electromagnetic FEM model of the direct-drive HTS WTG, comprised of 24 air-core type HTS race track coils (24 poles), has been built. The damper is used for stable operation of HTS field coil against varying magnetic field by change of rotation speed. This model is designed to obtain basic operating parameters for HTS WTG, including magnetic field distribution and induced electromotive force, in static and transient condition. First, the parameters in static condition, which means that the rotating speed is constant, are compared with our design parameters to confirm the feasibility of our numerical analysis. Second, in transient condition, we focused on the reaction between rotating magnetic field and its stator components, damper, and armature winding. By changing damper material having different electrical conductivity and magnetic permeability, we concluded our damper design to be applicable to our MW-class HTS synchronous generator model.
Despite of massive endeavors to characterize inflammation in COVID-19 patients, the core network of inflammatory mediators responsible for severe pneumonia stillremain remains elusive.
Here, we ...performed quantitative and kinetic analysis of 191 inflammatory factors in 955 plasma samples from 80 normal controls (sample n = 80) and 347 confirmed COVID-19 pneumonia patients (sample n = 875), including 8 deceased patients.
Differential expression analysis showed that 76% of plasmaproteins (145 factors) were upregulated in severe COVID-19 patients comparedwith moderate patients, confirming overt inflammatory responses in severe COVID-19 pneumonia patients. Global correlation analysis of the plasma factorsrevealed two core inflammatory modules, core I and II, comprising mainly myeloid cell and lymphoid cell compartments, respectively, with enhanced impact in a severity-dependent manner. We observed elevated IFNA1 and suppressed IL12p40, presenting a robust inverse correlation in severe patients, which was strongly associated with persistent hyperinflammation in 8.3% of moderate pneumonia patients and 59.4% of severe patients.
Aberrant persistence of pulmonary and systemic inflammation might be associated with long COVID-19 sequelae. Our comprehensive analysis of inflammatory mediators in plasmarevealed the complexity of pneumonic inflammation in COVID-19 patients anddefined critical modules responsible for severe pneumonic progression.
Conventional biochemical markers have limited usefulness in the prediction of early liver dysfunction. We, therefore, tried to find more useful liver failure biomarkers after liver resection that are ...highly sensitive to internal and external challenges in the biological system with a focus on liver metabolites. Twenty pigs were divided into the following 3 groups: sham operation group (n = 6), 70% hepatectomy group (n = 7) as a safety margin of resection model, and 90% hepatectomy group (n = 7) as a liver failure model. Blood sampling was performed preoperatively and at 1, 6, 14, 30, 38, and 48 hours after surgery, and 129 primary metabolites were profiled. Orthogonal projection to latent structures-discriminant analysis revealed that, unlike in the 70% hepatectomy and sham operation groups, central carbon metabolism was the most significant factor in the 90% hepatectomy group. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to develop a predictive model for mortality risk following hepatectomy. The recommended variables were malic acid, methionine, tryptophan, glucose, and γ-aminobutyric acid. Area under the curve of the linear combination of five metabolites was 0.993 (95% confidence interval: 0.927-1.000, sensitivity: 100.0, specificity: 94.87). We proposed robust biomarker panels that can accurately predict mortality risk associated with hepatectomy.
Chronic steroid treatment causes an increase in visceral adiposity and osteoporosis. It is believed that steroids may alter a balance between differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) into ...either adipocytes or osteoblasts; however, the detailed molecular mechanisms are unclear. We previously identified Dexras1 as a critical factor that potentiates adipogenesis in response to glucocorticoids. Thus, in this study, we investigated the role of Dexras1 in maintaining the balance between chronic steroid treatment-associated adipogenesis and osteoporosis.
We treated wild type (WT) and Dexras1 knockout (KO) mice with dexamethasone for five weeks followed by 60% HFD for additional two weeks with dexamethasone. The changes of glucocorticoid-induced body weight gain and osteoporosis were analyzed. Bone marrow derived stromal cells (BMSCs) and mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) extracted from WT and Dexras1 KO mice, as well as MC3T3-E1 pre-osteoblasts and osteoclasts differentiated from RAW264.7 were analyzed to further define the role of Dexras1 in osteoblasts and osteoclasts.
Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and micro-computed tomography analyses in murine femurs revealed that Dexras1 deficiency was associated with increased osteogenesis, concurrent with reduced adipogenesis. Furthermore, Dexras1 deficiency promoted osteogenesis of BMSCs and MEFs in vitro, suggesting that Dexras1 deficiency prevents steroid-induced osteoporosis. We also observed that Dexras1 downregulated SMAD signaling pathways, which reduced the osteogenic differentiation capacity of pre-osteoblast MC3T3-E1 cells into mature osteoblasts.
We propose that Dexras1 is critical for maintaining the equilibrium between adipogenesis and osteogenesis upon steroid treatment.
•Ablation of Dexras1 regulates mesenchymal stem cells via increased osteoblasts and decreased adipocytes.•Dexras1 involved in generation of osteocytes regulating not osteoclasts, but osteoblasts.•Dexras1 downregulates early stage of SMAD signaling followed by low activation of RUNX2 in osteocytes.•Dexras1 KO mice are resistant to glucocorticoid induced adipose tissue abnormalities and osteoporosis.
Mucin‐positive epithelial mesothelioma has been reported in the peritoneum only once, and that mainly involved the stomach wall. We report the second peritoneal case and this is the first case mainly ...involving the small bowel wall. A 65‐year‐old man showed diffuse involvement from the duodenum to the ileum and metastatic masses in the left adrenal gland. Segmental resection of the small bowel was performed; 2 months later the patient died. Light microscopy showed diffusely anaplastic epithelioid cell proliferation and foci of glandular formation with granular mucinous materials in the cytoplasmic vacuoles or within glandular lumina. Histochemically, these mucin materials were PAS‐positive and diastase‐resistant. Immunohistochemically, the various mesothelial markers were positive, and a few adenocarcinoma markers were focally positive. Ultrastructurally, the tumor cells showed long slender microvilli on the apical surface, consistent with mesothelioma. Electron microscopy can play a decisive role in the case of ambiguous histochemical and immunohistochemical results.
Biliary intraepithelial neoplasia (BilIN) is a noninvasive precursor lesion which progresses to cholangiocarcinoma (CC). BilIN is often found synchronously adjacent to the tumor or at the surgical ...resection margin of resection CC. However, irrespective of its location, its prognostic significance on outcome after CC resection is unknown. The aim of this study was to elucidate the prevalence of BilIN in CC and to determine if the presence of BilIN has a prognostic or predictive effect on survival after resection for CC with curative intent. We retrospectively analyzed the database of patients with CC who underwent curative surgery performed at our institution from 2010 to 2017. There were 142 patients who underwent curative surgery for CC. BilIN was detected in 42 patients (29.5%) and showed a significantly higher prevalence in extrahepatic CC (90.5%) than in intrahepatic CC (9.5%;
p
= 0.003). On univariate analysis, extrahepatic hepatic CC patients with BilIN lesions significantly showed better disease-free survival (
p
= 0.05). Also, although not statistically significant, extrahepatic CC patients with BilIN lesions revealed better overall survival (
p
= 0.09). On multivariate analysis, presence of BilIN lesion, irrespective of location, was significantly associated with better disease-free (HR = 1.959, 95% CI 1.026–3.743,
p
= 0.042) and overall survival (HR = 2.140, 95% CI 1.006–4.552,
p
= 0.048) in extrahepatic CC patients.
In conclusion, the presence of BilIN lesions was not uncommon in CC patients and was significantly associated with better disease-free and overall survival in extrahepatic CC patients. However, larger studies with longer follow-up are needed to accurately determine its clinical significance.
Unstable carotid atherosclerotic plaques are characterized by cap rupture, leading to thromboembolism and stroke. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) have been implicated in the progression of ...atherosclerosis and plaque rupture. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between the expressions of MMP-2 and MMP-9 and carotid plaque instability.
Eighty atherosclerotic plaques were collected from 74 patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy. Clinical information was obtained from each patient, and plaque morphology was examined at the macroscopic and microscopic levels. The immunohistochemical expressions of MMPs were graded using semiquantitative scales.
Macroscopic ulceration (84.6% versus 63.4%, p=0.042) and microscopic cap rupture (79.5% versus 51.2%, p=0.010) were more common in symptomatic than in asymptomatic patients. Immunoreactivities of MMP-2 and MMP-9 were increased in 40 and 36 atheromatous plaques, respectively. Macroscopic ulceration was strongly correlated with the expressions of MMP-2 (p<0.001) and MMP-9 (p=0.001). There were significant correlations between increased MMP-2 expression and cap rupture (p=0.002), intraplaque hemorrhage (p=0.039), and a thin fibrous cap (p=0.002), and between increased MMP-9 expression and cap rupture (p=0.010) and a large lipid core (p=0.013).
Plaque rupture was significantly associated with the development of vascular events in carotid atherosclerotic disease. MMP-2 and MMP-9 are strongly correlated with plaque instability.
Please cite this paper as: Association of UVRAG polymorphisms with susceptibility to non‐segmental vitiligo in a Korean sample. Experimental Dermatology 2010; 19: e323–e325.
: Autoimmune, ...self‐destructive, oxidative stress and genetic theories have been proposed for the pathogenesis of vitiligo. Autophagy is essential for cellular homeostasis and is implicated in many pathophysiological conditions such as cancer, response to oxidative stress and autoimmunity. The ultraviolet (UV) radiation resistance‐associated gene (UVRAG) activates the Beclin1‐PI(3)KC3 complex, promoting autophagy. To evaluate whether UVRAG polymorphisms are associated with non‐segmental vitiligo (NSV) patients in a Korean sample, we conducted a case–control association study of 225 NSV patients and 439 matched healthy controls. A total of five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of UVRAG were selected for analysis. Among these, two SNPs (rs1458836, rs7933235) showed significant genotypic differences between the NSV patient group and the control group. These two SNPs were located within a strong linkage disequilibrium (LD) block. In addition, the haplotype of the UVRAG polymorphism was associated with NSV. This study suggests a possible association between UVRAG and NSV susceptibility.
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