We report the first statistical study of stable auroral red (SAR) arcs detached from the main auroral oval during non‐storm time, using multi‐event conjugate measurements by the Defense ...Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) satellites (F13–F19) and a ground‐based all‐sky imager at Athabasca (Canada) (54.6°W, 246.36°Е, MLAT = 61.5°, MLON = 308.3°, L = 4.4). We found 63 events of detached SAR arc conjunctions with the DMSP satellites in the northern hemisphere and 18 events in the opposite southern hemisphere from 2006 to 2018. Measurements aboard DMSP satellites show that detached SAR arcs are in general associated with enhancements of electron temperature (60 cases) and electron density troughs (58 cases). Only 14 cases show strong horizontal flow associated with the detached SAR arcs, indicating that the strong plasma flow is not a necessary condition to cause the detached SAR arcs. The electron temperature measured by DMSP associated with detached SAR arcs positively correlates with F10.7 solar activity index. The measured emission intensities at 630.0 nm in the SAR arcs show a good correlation with the electron temperature. These results indicate that the detached SAR arcs during non‐storm time are caused by heat flux from the magnetosphere associated with substorms, and their intensity depends on the background plasma condition in the ionosphere.
Key Points
We show the first statistical study of stable auroral red (SAR) arcs detached from the auroral oval during non‐storm times using the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program satellites
Detached SAR arcs are mainly associated with electron temperature enhancement and electron density trough
In the pre‐midnight and midnight sectors, in some cases, detached SAR arcs are co‐located with horizontal flows
Heated tobacco products (HTPs) are an emerging class of tobacco goods that claim to have lower health risks than those of smoking combustible tobacco products. In this study, we exposed human lung ...epithelial cell lines to extracts prepared from HTP aerosols and combustible cigarette smoke to compare cytotoxicity. We focused on the effects of aldehydes present in the aerosols of HTPs at levels close to those in combustible cigarette smoke. Significant toxicity was confirmed for the HTP extract, albeit to a lesser extent than that with the combustible cigarette extract. When redox balance was evaluated by the oxidative loss of low-molecular-weight thiols in the cells, we found that total glutathione (GSH) contents and low-molecular-weight thiol levels were significantly decreased after exposure to the aerosol extract of HTPs. These results indicated that GSH is rapidly consumed during the detoxification of xenobiotics, such as aldehydes from tobacco extracts. Accordingly, exposure to the aerosol extract of HTPs resulted in the enhanced carbonylation of many proteins. In a simple comparison, the results for HTPs were significantly different from those obtained with combustible cigarette smoke, suggesting reduced toxicity of HTPs. However, we found significant and harmful effects after exposing lung epithelial cells to the aerosol extract of HTPs. Thus, a further comprehensive study is needed to clarify the lung damage induced via the long-term inhalation of aerosols from HTPs.
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•Aerosol extract of heated tobacco product (HTP) is cytotoxic to lung epithelial cell.•Total GSH contents were drastically decreased by exposure to aerosol extract of HTPs.•Exposure to aerosol extract of HTPs causes protein carbonylation in human lung cells.
Sorafenib (Sor) is acknowledged as a standard therapy for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This trial was conducted to evaluate the effect of addition of hepatic arterial infusion ...chemotherapy with cisplatin (SorCDDP) to Sor for the treatment of advanced HCC.
We conducted a multicenter open-labeled randomized phase II trial in chemo-naïve patients with advanced HCC with Child-Pugh scores of 5–7. Eligible patients were randomly assigned 2:1 to receive SorCDDP (sorafenib: 400mg bid; cisplatin: 65mg/m2, day 1, every 4–6 weeks) or Sor (400mg bid). The primary end point was overall survival.
A total of 108 patients were randomized (Sor, n = 42; SorCDDP, n = 66). The median survival in the Sor and SorCDDP arms were 8.7 and 10.6 months, respectively stratified hazard ratio (95% confidence interval), 0.60 (0.38–0.96), P = 0.031. The median time to progression and the response rate were, respectively, 2.8 months and 7.3% in the Sor arm and 3.1 months and 21.7% in the SorCDDP arm. The adverse events were more frequent in the SorCDDP arm than in the Sor arm, but well-tolerated.
SorCDDP yielded favorable overall survival when compared with Sor in patients with advanced HCC.
UMIN-CTR (http://www.umin.ac.jp/ctr/index-j.htm), identification number: UMIN000005703.
Abstract
The International Commission on Radiological Protection has substantially reduced the recommended maximum annual eye lens dose for workers. Use of a dedicated eye dosemeter is one method for ...accurate dose monitoring. The main aim of this study was to yield recommendations for optimal placement of eye dosemeters to estimate the eye dose to interventional cardiology physicians and nurses. A phantom measurement was conducted to simulate typical interventional cardiology procedures. Considering eight X-ray tube angulations, the left side of the head position provide good estimates for physician, and the forehead position provide good estimates for nurse.
Auroral brightening is one of the most common phenomena that occur during substorm onset and is usually recognized as a projection of the substorm‐associated magnetospheric plasma dynamics to the ...ionosphere. However, electromagnetic fields and plasma features associated with the substorm brightening arc have not been well understood. In this study, we present a comprehensive observation of the source plasma and field variations of a substorm brightening aurora in the inner magnetosphere. We performed a unique conjugate observation of a substorm brightening auroral arc observed by a ground‐based camera and by the Arase satellite in the magnetospheric source region at L ∼ 6. The event was observed at Tromsø (69.6°N, 19.2°E), Norway, on 12 October 2017. The brightening arc indicates east‐west structures with longitudinal scales of ∼0.5°–2.0°. Field‐aligned bi‐directional electrons with an energy range between 66 and 1,800 eV were detected by the satellite, simultaneously with the appearance of the brightening arc in the camera. These electrons were probably supplied from the auroral brightening region in the ionosphere, indicating that the satellite was on the same field line of the brightening aurora. The magnetic and electric field data show characteristic fluctuations and earthward Poynting flux around the time that the satellite crossed the aurora. Anti‐phase oscillations between the thermal pressure and the magnetic pressure are also reported. Based on these observations, we suggest the possibility that a ballooning instability occurred in the source region of the substorm brightening arc in the inner magnetosphere at L ∼ 6.
Plain Language Summary
A frequently occurring source of variations in the magnetosphere is the substorm, a process that causes energy dissipation into the atmosphere. Substorm is presented as the development of aurorae at high latitudes in the ionosphere. The study of substorm processes helps in understanding the near‐Earth space environment and the space weather. Along Earth's magnetic field lines, the aurora at a latitude of ∼65°N can be traced to ∼4–7 Earth radii away from the Earth at the equatorial plane in space. Using a ground‐based auroral camera, we can construct the correspondence between auroral motion and field and plasma variation at the satellite. This study reports such a unique event of substorm brightening arc observed at Tromsø, Norway, on 12 October 2017. Satellite observed bi‐directional electrons prove the connection between aurora break‐up at ∼100 km altitude and its source region in the magnetosphere at ∼30,000 km away from Earth. Based on the magnetic wave spectrograms, auroral bead‐like structures and other observational results, we suggest the possibility that a ballooning plasma instability occurred in the source region of the substorm brightening arc in the inner magnetosphere.
Key Points
Observation of plasma and field features in the source region of a sudden brightening auroral arc during a minor substorm onset at L ∼ 6
Energization of particles, field‐aligned electrons, and electromagnetic field fluctuations were observed during the arc crossing by Arase
Several observational facts indicate the possibility of ballooning instability occurring at this substorm onset
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of high tibial osteotomy (HTO) on the biological status of knee osteoarthritis (OA) using joint markers in synovial fluid (SF).
Fifty patients ...with medial compartmental OA of the knee who underwent opening wedge HTO were enrolled. Paired SF samples from the affected knee and arthroscopic evaluation of articular cartilage were collected at the time of HTO surgery and the time of plate removal (postoperative 17 ± 4 months). The concentrations of the following SF biomarkers were measured: interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, tumour necrosis factor-α, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2, MMP-3, MMP-9, MMP-13, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP). The Knee Society Score (KSS) and hip–knee–ankle (HKA) angle were assessed before and 2 years after HTO.
The KSS knee and function scores were significantly improved after HTO (mean changes of 36.4 and 23.7, respectively). The mean HKA angle was altered from mechanical varus (−8.6°) to valgus (5.2°). Concentrations of IL-6, IL-8, MMP-2, MMP-3, MMP-13, VEGF, and COMP in SF were significantly decreased after HTO (mean changes of −49.1%, −30.2%, −31.1%, −26.3%, −30.8%, −42.5%, and −13.7% from preoperative baseline, respectively). The cartilage status was improved in 19 cases (38%) after HTO. However, changes of all biomarkers were not significantly different between subjects with and without an improved cartilage status.
SF levels of biochemical markers for cartilage degradation and synovial inflammation were altered after HTO, suggesting an improvement in the OA disease state.
It is well known that microRNAs (miRs) are abnormally expressed in various cancers and target the messenger RNAs (mRNAs) of cancer-associated genes. While (miRs) are abnormally expressed in various ...cancers, whether miRs directly target oncogenic proteins is unknown. The present study investigated the inhibitory effects of miR-18a on colon cancer progression, which was considered to be mediated through its direct binding and degradation of heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein A1 (hnRNP A1). An MTT assay and xenograft model demonstrated that the transfection of miR-18a induced apoptosis in SW620 cells. A binding assay revealed direct binding between miR-18a and hnRNP A1 in the cytoplasm of SW620 cells, which inhibited the oncogenic functions of hnRNP A1. A competitor RNA, which included the complementary sequence of the region of the miR-18a-hnRNP A1 binding site, repressed the effects of miR-18a on the induction of cancer cell apoptosis. In vitro single and in vivo double isotope assays demonstrated that miR-18a induced the degradation of hnRNP A1. An immunocytochemical study of hnRNP A1 and LC3-II and the inhibition of autophagy by 3-methyladenine and ATG7, p62 and BAG3 siRNA showed that miR-18a and hnRNP A1 formed a complex that was degraded through the autophagolysosomal pathway. This is the first report showing a novel function of a miR in the autophagolysosomal degradation of an oncogenic protein resulting from the creation of a complex consisting of the miR and a RNA-binding protein, which suppressed cancer progression.
BackgroundThe effects of coffee and green, black and oolong teas and caffeine intake on cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality have not been well defined in Asian countries.MethodsTo examine the ...relationship between the consumption of these beverages and risk of mortality from CVD, 76 979 individuals aged 40–79 years free of stroke, coronary heart disease (CHD) and cancer at entry were prospectively followed. The daily consumption of beverages was assessed by questionnaires.Results1362 deaths were documented from strokes and 650 deaths from CHD after 1 010 787 person-years of follow-up. Compared with non-drinkers of coffee, the multivariable HR and 95% CI for those drinking 1–6 cups/week, 1–2 cups/day and ≥3 cups/day were 0.78 (0.50 to 1.20), 0.67 (0.47 to 0.96) and 0.45 (0.17 to 0.87) for strokes among men (p=0.009 for trend). Compared with non-drinkers of green tea, the multivariable HR for those drinking 1–6 cups/week, 1–2 cups/day, 3–5 cups/day and ≥6 cups/day were 0.34 (0.06–1.75), 0.28 (0.07–1.11), 0.39 (0.18–0.85) and 0.42 (0.17–0.88) for CHD among women (p=0.038 for trend). As for oolong tea, the multivariable HR of those drinking 1–6 cups/week and ≥1 cups/day were 1.00 (0.65–1.55) and 0.39 (0.17–0.88) for total CVD among men (p=0.049 for trend). Risk reduction for total CVD across categories of caffeine intake was most prominently observed in the second highest quintile, with a 38% lower risk among men and 22% among women.ConclusionsConsumption of coffee, green tea and oolong tea and total caffeine intake was associated with a reduced risk of mortality from CVD.
To examine the relationship between maternal smoking during pregnancy and the body composition of offspring.
Grade 4 elementary school children (n=1366; boys/girls, 724/642; 9-10 years old) were ...enrolled in this study. All parents answered a lifestyle questionnaire, and children underwent passive smoking tests. Urinary cotinine measurement and lifestyle screening test parameters (that is, body weight, body length, body mass index (BMI), obesity index (OI), blood tests for liver function and lipid profile and questions regarding maternal smoking and lifestyle) were evaluated in terms of their relationship with maternal smoking. In addition, urinary 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) concentration was measured in 80 randomly selected children to assess its relationship with oxidative stress.
Both BMI and OI were significantly higher in children whose mothers smoked during pregnancy than in those whose mothers never smoked (BMI: 17.2±2.7 vs 16.9±2.5 kg m(-2), P=0.016; OI: 2.7±14.3% vs 0.4±14.0%, P=0.003). The degree of elevation was positively correlated with the duration of maternal smoking. The increases in BMI and OI resulted from increased body weight and reduced height. The confounding factors-'breakfast with family', 'watching television at dinner', 'eating and drinking before sleep', 'watching television for >2 h', 'sleep duration <8 h' and 'playing sports'-were statistically significant. BMI and OI were significantly high in children whose mothers smoked during pregnancy in these six confounders. On the other hand, urinary 8-OHdG concentration was negatively correlated with BMI in children who had >1.3 ng ml(-1) urinary cotinine, suggesting that it may be related to basal metabolism due to oxidative stress.
Maternal smoking is a risk factor for higher BMI and OI in 9- to 10-year-old children whose mothers smoke during pregnancy and may be independent of other confounding factors.
This paper presents results of an experimental study on natural convection in the vertical enclosure of a double coaxial cylinder where the inner wall is at constant heat flux. It is the objective of ...this experiment to understand the basic characteristics of heat transfer under the condition of natural convection coupled with thermal radiation in a vertical enclosure. The range of Rayleigh numbers based on the width of the double coaxial cylinder is set to be 5.6 × 10
< Ra < 1.04 × 108, the radius ratio is 2.73, the aspect ratio is 3.43 (cylinder length divided by annular gap). The heat transfer coefficient of natural convection coupled with thermal radiation was obtained as function of the Rayleigh number, aspect ratio of the enclosure, and temperature of the hot and cold surfaces. The experimental results show that thermal radiation can’t be neglected in analyzing heat transfer of vertical annulus with natural convection. The results provide the basic data for the design and the performance assessment of the future passive cooling system used in a high-temperature engineering test reactor.
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