Auroral substorms, dynamic phenomena that occur in the upper atmosphere at night, are caused by global reconfiguration of the magnetosphere, which releases stored solar wind energy. These storms are ...characterized by auroral brightening from dusk to midnight, followed by violent motions of distinct auroral arcs that suddenly break up, and the subsequent emergence of diffuse, pulsating auroral patches at dawn. Pulsating aurorae, which are quasiperiodic, blinking patches of light tens to hundreds of kilometres across, appear at altitudes of about 100 kilometres in the high-latitude regions of both hemispheres, and multiple patches often cover the entire sky. This auroral pulsation, with periods of several to tens of seconds, is generated by the intermittent precipitation of energetic electrons (several to tens of kiloelectronvolts) arriving from the magnetosphere and colliding with the atoms and molecules of the upper atmosphere. A possible cause of this precipitation is the interaction between magnetospheric electrons and electromagnetic waves called whistler-mode chorus waves. However, no direct observational evidence of this interaction has been obtained so far. Here we report that energetic electrons are scattered by chorus waves, resulting in their precipitation. Our observations were made in March 2017 with a magnetospheric spacecraft equipped with a high-angular-resolution electron sensor and electromagnetic field instruments. The measured quasiperiodic precipitating electron flux was sufficiently intense to generate a pulsating aurora, which was indeed simultaneously observed by a ground auroral imager.
We present an improved search for neutrinoless double-beta (0νββ) decay of ^{136}Xe in the KamLAND-Zen experiment. Owing to purification of the xenon-loaded liquid scintillator, we achieved a ...significant reduction of the ^{110m}Ag contaminant identified in previous searches. Combining the results from the first and second phase, we obtain a lower limit for the 0νββ decay half-life of T_{1/2}^{0ν}>1.07×10^{26} yr at 90% C.L., an almost sixfold improvement over previous limits. Using commonly adopted nuclear matrix element calculations, the corresponding upper limits on the effective Majorana neutrino mass are in the range 61-165 meV. For the most optimistic nuclear matrix elements, this limit reaches the bottom of the quasidegenerate neutrino mass region.
Transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which possess self-renewing properties and multipotency, into a periodontal defect is thought to be a useful option for periodontal tissue ...regeneration. However, developing more reliable and predictable implantation techniques is still needed. Recently, we generated clumps of an MSC/extracellular matrix (ECM) complex (C-MSC), which consisted of cells and self-produced ECM. C-MSCs can regulate their cellular functions in vitro and can be grafted into a defect site, without any artificial scaffold, to induce bone regeneration. Accordingly, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of C-MSC transplantation on periodontal tissue regeneration in beagle dogs. Seven beagle dogs were employed to generate a premolar class III furcation defect model. MSCs isolated from dog ilium were seeded at a density of 7.0 × 104 cells/well into 24-well plates and cultured in growth medium supplemented with 50 µg/mL ascorbic acid for 4 d. To obtain C-MSCs, confluent cells were scratched using a micropipette tip and were then torn off as a cellular sheet. The sheet was rolled up to make round clumps of cells. C-MSCs were maintained in growth medium or osteoinductive medium (OIM) for 5 or 10 d. The biological properties of C-MSCs were evaluated in vitro, and their periodontal tissue regenerative activity was tested by using a dog class III furcation defect model. Immunofluorescence analysis revealed that type I collagen fabricated the form of C-MSCs. OIM markedly elevated calcium deposition in C-MSCs at day 10, suggesting its osteogenic differentiation capacity. Both C-MSCs and C-MSCs cultured with OIM transplantation without an artificial scaffold into the dog furcation defect induced periodontal tissue regeneration successfully compared with no graft, whereas osteogenic-differentiated C-MSCs led to rapid alveolar bone regeneration. These findings suggested that the use of C-MSCs refined by self-produced ECM may represent a novel predictable periodontal tissue regenerative therapy.
Abstract
Pulsating aurorae (PsA) are caused by the intermittent precipitations of magnetospheric electrons (energies of a few keV to a few tens of keV) through wave-particle interactions, thereby ...depositing most of their energy at altitudes ~ 100 km. However, the maximum energy of precipitated electrons and its impacts on the atmosphere are unknown. Herein, we report unique observations by the European Incoherent Scatter (EISCAT) radar showing electron precipitations ranging from a few hundred keV to a few MeV during a PsA associated with a weak geomagnetic storm. Simultaneously, the Arase spacecraft has observed intense whistler-mode chorus waves at the conjugate location along magnetic field lines. A computer simulation based on the EISCAT observations shows immediate catalytic ozone depletion at the mesospheric altitudes. Since PsA occurs frequently, often in daily basis, and extends its impact over large MLT areas, we anticipate that the PsA possesses a significant forcing to the mesospheric ozone chemistry in high latitudes through high energy electron precipitations. Therefore, the generation of PsA results in the depletion of mesospheric ozone through high-energy electron precipitations caused by whistler-mode chorus waves, which are similar to the well-known effect due to solar energetic protons triggered by solar flares.
Background
Recent studies in the USA have shown a lower postoperative mortality rate in mildly obese patients, described as the ‘obesity paradox’. The results from the relatively obese population in ...Western countries may not be generalizable to Asian countries, prompting the present study to investigate the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and outcomes after gastrointestinal surgery.
Methods
Patients who underwent gastrectomy or colorectal resection for stage I–III cancer between July and December 2010 were identified from a nationwide inpatient database in Japan. Multivariable logistic regression models for in‐hospital mortality and postoperative complications, and a linear regression model for total costs were established, with adjustment for age, sex, co‐morbidities, cancer stage and BMI. Restricted cubic spline functions were used to consider potential non‐linear associations between BMI and the outcomes.
Results
Among 30 765 eligible patients, associations between BMI and the outcomes were U‐shaped, with the lowest mortality, morbidity and total costs in patients with a BMI of around 23·0 kg/m2. A BMI of 18·5 kg/m2 was associated with significantly greater mortality (odds ratio (OR) 2·04, 95 per cent confidence interval 1·64 to 2·55), postoperative complications (OR 1·10, 1·03 to 1·18) and total costs (difference €1389, 1139 to 1640) compared with a BMI of 23·0 kg/m2. Patients with a BMI exceeding 30·0 kg/m2 had significantly higher rates of postoperative complications and total costs than those with a BMI of 23·0 kg/m2, but no significant association was evident between a BMI of more than 23·0 kg/m2 and in‐hospital death.
Conclusion
Unlike previous studies in the USA, in the present national Japanese cohort of patients undergoing surgery for gastrointestinal cancer, those who were either underweight or overweight had more postoperative complications and greater perioperative costs than those of normal weight.
Japanese patients really are different
A new empirical density model is developed for the inner zone between 1 < L < 3 using plasma densities inferred from the upper hybrid resonance on Arase, and hiss‐inferred density values from Van ...Allen Probes. The Van Allen Probes hiss‐inferred densities are first recalibrated and validated against Arase observations, using both a conjunction event and statistical analyses. The newly developed density model includes dependencies on L, magnetic latitude, and magnetic local time (MLT). Between 1.5 < L < 3.0, the equatorial density variation with L is shown to be equivalent to that of the Ozhogin et al. (2012, https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JA017330) model. However, for L < 1.5, this dependence changes as the plasma density increases at a faster rate with decreasing L. The latitudinal dependence of the plasma density is shown to present a flatter profile than previous models, meaning lower densities extend to higher latitudes. This dependence is well‐modeled by updated fitting coefficients. A clear MLT dependence of the plasma density is identified, which was not found or included in some previous models. This variation is consistent with the diurnal variation of the ionosphere, peaking near MLT = 14 and becoming larger in amplitude with decreasing L. A function describing this MLT dependence is presented. Overall, the new L, latitude, and MLT‐dependent empirical model can provide density values in areas outside the validity region of many previous models, making it a useful resource for accurately determining diffusion coefficients and predicting electron dynamics and their lifetimes in the inner radiation belt.
Key Points
Radiation Belt Storm Probes and Arase data are used to build a new empirical plasma density model for the inner zone, including L, latitude, and magnetic local time (MLT) dependencies
MLT dependence consistent with diurnal variation of ionosphere. Variation is largest in amplitude at low L, but persists out to L = 3
New model provides density in areas outside previous model bounds, making it a useful resource for modeling inner radiation belt dynamics
Hypercapnia, elevated levels of CO2 in the blood, is a known marker for poor clinical prognosis and is associated with increased mortality in patients hospitalized with both bacterial and viral ...pneumonias. Although studies have established a connection between elevated CO2 levels and poor pneumonia outcomes, a mechanistic basis of this association has not yet been established. We previously reported that hypercapnia inhibits expression of key NF‐κB‐regulated, innate immune cytokines, TNF‐α, and IL‐6, in LPS‐stimulated macrophages in vitro and in mice during Pseudomonas pneumonia. The transcription factor heat shock factor 1 (HSF1) is important in maintaining proteostasis during stress and has been shown to negatively regulate NF‐κB activity. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that HSF1 activation in response to hypercapnia results in attenuated NF‐κB‐regulated gene expression. We found that hypercapnia induced the protein expression and nuclear accumulation of HSF1 in primary murine alveolar macrophages and in an alveolar macrophage cell line (MH‐S). In MH‐S cells treated with short interfering RNA targeting Hsf1, LPS‐induced IL‐6 and TNF‐α release were elevated during exposure to hypercapnia. Pseudomonas‐infected Hsf1+/+ (wild‐type) mice, maintained in a hypercapnic environment, showed lower levels of IL‐6 and TNF‐α in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and IL‐1β in lung tissue than did infected mice maintained in room air. In contrast, infected Hsf1+/• mice exposed to either hypercapnia or room air had similarly elevated levels of those cytokines. These results suggest that hypercapnia‐mediated inhibition of NF‐κB cytokine production is dependent on HSF1 expression and/or activation.—Lu, Z., Casalino‐Matsuda, S. M., Nair, A., Buchbinder, A., Budinger, G. R. S., Sporn, P. H. S., Gates, K. L. A role for heat shock factor 1 in hypercapnia‐induced inhibition of inflammatory cytokine expression. FASEB J. 32, 3614–3622 (2018). www.fasebj.org
Resonant interactions of energetic electrons with electromagnetic whistler‐mode waves (whistlers) contribute significantly to the dynamics of electron fluxes in Earth's outer radiation belt. At low ...geomagnetic latitudes, these waves are very effective in pitch angle scattering and precipitation into the ionosphere of low equatorial pitch angle, tens of keV electrons and acceleration of high equatorial pitch angle electrons to relativistic energies. Relativistic (hundreds of keV), electrons may also be precipitated by resonant interaction with whistlers, but this requires waves propagating quasi‐parallel without significant intensity decrease to high latitudes where they can resonate with higher energy low equatorial pitch angle electrons than at the equator. Wave propagation away from the equatorial source region in a non‐uniform magnetic field leads to ray divergence from the originally field‐aligned direction and efficient wave damping by Landau resonance with suprathermal electrons, reducing the wave ability to scatter electrons at high latitudes. However, wave propagation can become ducted along field‐aligned density peaks (ducts), preventing ray divergence and wave damping. Such ducting may therefore result in significant relativistic electron precipitation. We present evidence that ducted whistlers efficiently precipitate relativistic electrons. We employ simultaneous near‐equatorial and ground‐based measurements of whistlers and low‐altitude electron precipitation measurements by ELFIN CubeSat. We show that ducted waves (appearing on the ground) efficiently scatter relativistic electrons into the loss cone, contrary to non‐ducted waves (absent on the ground) precipitating only <150 keV electrons. Our results indicate that ducted whistlers may be quite significant for relativistic electron losses; they should be further studied statistically and possibly incorporated in radiation belt models.
Key Points
Near‐equatorial and ground‐based measurements of whistler‐mode waves are accompanied by relativistic electron precipitation
In the presence (absence) of ducted wave propagation, as monitored by propagation to the ground, the precipitating electron energies are above (below) 150 keV
Ducted whistler‐mode waves may play a key role in relativistic electron loss in the inner magnetosphere
Equatorial noise (EN) emissions are observed inside and outside the plasmapause. EN emissions are referred to as magnetosonic mode waves. Using data from Van Allen Probes and Arase, we found ...conversion from EN emissions to electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves in the plasmasphere and in the topside ionosphere. A low‐frequency part of EN emissions becomes EMIC waves through branch splitting of EN emissions, and the mode conversion from EN to EMIC waves occurs around the frequency of M/Q = 2 (deuteron and/or alpha particles) cyclotron frequency. These processes result in plasmaspheric EMIC waves. We investigated the ion composition ratio by characteristic frequencies of EN emissions and EMIC waves and obtained ion composition ratios. We found that the maximum composition ratio of M/Q = 2 ions is ~10% below 3,000 km. The quantitative estimation of the ion composition will contribute to improving the plasma model of the deep plasmasphere and the topside ionosphere.
Plain Language Summary
Equatorial noise (EN) emissions are whistler mode waves. Using Van Allen Probe and Arase (ERG) plasma wave data, we found that EN emissions propagate toward the Earth and are converted to electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves in the deep plasmasphere and the topside ionosphere. We suggest that minor ions with a mass per charge (M/Q) = 2, that is, deuteron or alpha particles, play an important role in this process. The processes reported here are a new generation process of plasmaspheric EMIC waves. Moreover, we determined the ion composition ratio using characteristics of wave dispersion. We derived the altitude profile of the ion composition ratio and identified the maximum ratio of M/Q = 2 ions of about 10% in the deep plasmasphere.
Key Points
The first measurements of the conversion from equatorial noise to EMIC waves are presented
Existence of M/Q = 2 ions (deuteron or alpha particle) in the deep plasmasphere is essential to cause the conversion
The ion composition ratio is quantitatively estimated in the deep plasmasphere using characteristics of the wave dispersion
Patients with chronic lung disease, obesity, and other co-morbid conditions are at increased risk of severe illness and death when infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 ...(SARS-CoV-2). Hypercapnia, the elevation of CO
in blood and tissue, commonly occurs in patients with severe acute and chronic lung disease, including those with pulmonary infections, and is also associated with high mortality risk. We previously reported that hypercapnia increases viral replication and mortality of influenza A virus infection in mice. We have also shown that culture in elevated CO
upregulates expression of cholesterol synthesis genes in primary human bronchial epithelial cells. Interestingly, factors that increase the cholesterol content of lipid rafts and lipid droplets, platforms for viral entry and assembly, enhance SARS-CoV-2 infection. In the current study, we investigated the effects of hypercapnia on ACE2 expression and entry of SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus (p-SARS-CoV-2) into airway epithelial cells. We found that hypercapnia increased ACE2 expression and p-SARS-CoV-2 uptake by airway epithelium in mice, and in cultured VERO and human bronchial epithelial cells. Hypercapnia also increased total cellular and lipid raft-associated cholesterol in epithelial cells. Moreover, reducing cholesterol synthesis with inhibitors of sterol regulatory element binding protein 2 (SREBP2) or statins, and depletion of cellular cholesterol, each blocked the hypercapnia-induced increases in ACE2 expression and p-SARS-CoV-2 entry into epithelial cells. Cigarette smoke extract (CSE) also increased ACE2 expression, p-SARS-CoV-2 entry and cholesterol accumulation in epithelial cells, an effect not additive to that of hypercapnia, but also inhibited by statins. These findings reveal a mechanism that may account, in part, for poor clinical outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients with advanced lung disease and hypercapnia, and in those who smoke cigarettes. Further, our results suggest the possibility that cholesterol-lowering therapies may be of particular benefit in patients with hypercapnia when exposed to or infected with SARS-CoV-2.
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