Bosonic superweakly interacting massive particles (super-WIMPs) are a candidate for warm dark matter. With the absorption of such a boson by a xenon atom, these dark matter candidates would deposit ...an energy equivalent to their rest mass in the detector. This is the first direct detection experiment exploring the vector super-WIMPs in the mass range between 40 and 120 keV. With the use of 165.9 day of data, no significant excess above background was observed in the fiducial mass of 41 kg. The present limit for the vector super-WIMPs excludes the possibility that such particles constitute all of dark matter. The absence of a signal also provides the most stringent direct constraint on the coupling constant of pseudoscalar super-WIMPs to electrons. The unprecedented sensitivity was achieved exploiting the low background at a level 10(-4) kg-1 keVee-1 day-1 in the detector.
A search for light dark matter using low-threshold data from the single phase liquid xenon scintillation detector XMASS, has been conducted. Using the entire 835 kg inner volume as target, the ...analysis threshold can be lowered to 0.3 keVee (electron-equivalent) to search for light dark matter. With low-threshold data corresponding to a 5591.4 kg day exposure of the detector and without discriminating between nuclear-recoil and electronic events, XMASS excludes part of the parameter space favored by other experiments.
Brucite‐carbonate chimneys were discovered from the deepest known (∼5700 m depth) serpentinite‐hosted ecosystem—the Shinkai Seep Field (SSF) in the southern Mariana forearc. Textural observations and ...geochemical analysis reveal three types (I–III) of chimneys formed by the precipitation and dissolution of constitutive minerals. Type I chimneys are bright white to light yellow, have a spiky crystalline and wrinkled surface with microbial mat and contain more brucite; these formed as a result of rapid precipitation under high fluid discharge conditions. Type II chimneys exhibit white to dull brown coloration, tuberous textures like vascular bundles, and are covered with grayish microbial mats and dense colonies of Phyllochaetopterus. This type of chimney is characterized by inner brucite‐rich and outer carbonate rich zones and is thought to have precipitated from lower fluid discharge conditions than type I chimneys. Type III chimneys are ivory colored, have surface depressions and lack living microbial mats or animals. This type of chimney mainly consists of carbonate, and is in a dissolution stage. Stable carbon isotope compositions of carbonates in the two types (I and II) of active chimneys are extremely 13C‐enriched (up to +24.1‰), which may reflect biological 12C consumption under extremely low dissolved inorganic carbon concentrations in alkaline fluids. Type III chimneys have 13C compositions indicating re‐equilibration with seawater. Our findings demonstrate for the first time that carbonate chimneys can form below the carbonate compensation depth and provide new insights about linked geologic, hydrologic, and biological processes of the global deep‐sea serpentinite‐hosted vent systems.
Key Points:
Brucite‐carbonate chimneys were found in a serpentinite‐hosted seep system, Shinkai Seep Field in the southern Mariana forearc at ∼5700 m deep
The chimneys are subdivided into three types (I–III) in terms of appearances, vent activity, mineral composition, textures, and faunal communities
Some characteristics of the SSF chimneys are different from previously reported chimneys at serpentinite‐hosted vent/seep fields
The coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CEvNS) plays a crucial role at the final evolution of stars. The detection of it would be of importance in astroparticle physics. Among all available ...neutrino sources, galactic supernovae give the highest neutrino flux in the MeV range. Among all liquid xenon dark matter experiments, XMASS has the largest sensitive volume and light yield. The possibility to detect galactic supernova via the CEvNS-process on xenon nuclei in the current XMASS detector was investigated. The total number of events integrated in about 18 s after the explosion of a supernova 10 kpc away from the Earth was expected to be from 3.5 to 21.1, depending on the supernova model used to predict the neutrino flux, while the number of background events in the same time window was measured to be negligible. All lead to very high possibility to detect CEvNS experimentally for the first time utilizing the combination of galactic supernovae and the XMASS detector. In case of a supernova explosion as close as Betelgeuse, the total observable events can be more than ∼ 104, making it possible to distinguish different supernova models by examining the evolution of neutrino event rate in XMASS.
Muscle mass, a key index for the diagnosis of sarcopenia, is currently assessed using the appendicular skeletal muscle mass index (ASMI) by bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). Muscle thickness ...(MT) assessed by ultrasonography (US) may be a better determinant and/or predictor of muscle condition than ASMI. Thus, we compared it to the ASMI determined by the BIA.
Our study included 165 ambulatory older adults (84 males, 81 females, mean age: 76.82 years). The ASMI by the BIA method, MT by US, and the distribution of body mass index (BMI) and body fat percentage (BFP) were examined using defined values for men and women. These were used as the basis for examining the association of MT and ASMI with handgrip strength (HGS), leg muscle strength (LMS), gait speed (GS), and echo intensity (EI). We compared HGS, LMS, GS, and EI for high and low ASMI among lower BMI or BFP. The same was also done for MT assessed by US.
MT, as well as ASMI, was strongly associated with HGS and LMS. There was a correlation between MT and GS and EI but not between ASMI and GS and EI. There were significant differences in the prevalence between high ASMI and high MT or low ASMI and low MT in those with lower BMI or BFP. In non-overweight participants, HGS, LMS, GS, and EI were significantly higher in those with high MT than in those with low MT; however, there were no significant differences in them between those with high and low ASMI.
In the non-overweight group, the MT assessment by US showed a stronger relationship to muscle strength and muscle quality than the ASMI assessment by BIA. The MT assessment using US is a useful alternative to BIA-assessed ASMI, especially in non-overweight participants.
Background
This prospective study was designed to examine the associations of demographic, clinical, psychological and neuroendocrine factors with acute and chronic post‐operative pain following ...partial mastectomy.
Methods
Sixty‐four female patients scheduled for partial mastectomy were enrolled. Pre‐operative anxiety/depression was assessed, using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Pre‐operative 24‐h urinary cortisol levels were measured 2 days before surgery. Post‐operative pain was examined using a visual analog scale (VAS) for acute pain on 0–2 post‐operative day (POD), and a short‐form McGill Pain Questionnaire for chronic pain at 6 months after surgery. In the last 29 subjects, post‐operative 24‐h urinary cortisol levels were also measured on 0 POD and were subjected to correlation analysis.
Results
Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that lower pre‐operative cortisol secretion and greater pre‐operative anxiety were significantly associated with an increased risk of moderate to severe acute post‐operative pain Odds Ratio (95% Confidence Interval); 0.96 (0.92–0.98), and 1.24 (1.04–1.54), and that patients with greater pre‐operative anxiety and moderate to severe acute pain were more likely to develop chronic post‐operative pain OR (95% CI); 1.63 (1.23–2.40), and 5.07 (1.30–24.6). Correlational analysis demonstrated that the post‐operative cortisol level was inversely correlated with pre‐operative anxiety and the intensity of acute post‐operative pain (r = −0.40, p < 0.05, and r = −0.50, p < 0.01), but not with the intensity of chronic pain.
Conclusions
This study confirms that pre‐operative anxiety is associated with both acute and chronic post‐operative pain after partial mastectomy. It also suggests that lower perioperative cortisol secretion might be associated with greater acute post‐operative pain.
Significance
Although the associations between psychological stress/stress hormone levels and chronic post‐operative pain remain to be determined, pre‐operative psychological stress and perioperative cortisol levels are correlated with acute post‐operative pain.
DNA methylation of the BMAL1 promoter Satou, R.; Sugihara, N.; Ishizuka, Y. ...
Biochemical and biophysical research communications,
10/2013, Letnik:
440, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Recenzirano
•BMAL1 promoter is hypermethylated in CPT-K cells.•Other clock genes are not hypermethylated.•Release of DNA methylation recovers circadian oscillation.
We previously analyzed transcriptional ...regulation of the BMAL1 gene, a critical component of the mammalian clock system and found that the BMAL1 gene is expressed with circadian oscillation and that its regulatory region is located in hypomethylated CpG islands with an open chromatin structure. Here, we found that the BMAL1 gene is not expressed with circadian oscillation in CPT-K cells because the CpG islands located in the BMAL1 promoter are hypermethylated and that 5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine (aza-dC) recovered BMAL1 expression. In contrast, CpG islands in the PER2 promoter were hypomethylated, the PER2 gene was expressed and aza-dC enhanced PER2 gene expression in CPT-K cells. Reporter gene assays showed that intracellular transcriptional machinery for the BMAL1 gene is active, suggesting that BMAL1 inactivation is caused by DNA methylation and not by malfunctional promoter activity. Incubating CPT-K cells with aza-dC also increased CRY1 expression, whereas CLOCK expression was not altered and the CRY1 promoter was unmethylated. These results suggest that aza-dC induces BMAL1 expression via DNA demethylation in the BMAL1 promoter and enhances PER2 and CRY1 transcription. Finally, aza-dC recovered the circadian oscillation of BMAL1 transcription. These results suggest that DNA methylation of the BMAL1 gene is critical for interfering with circadian rhythms.
A 48-year-old Japanese woman was diagnosed with Budd-Chiari syndrome and transferred for possible living donor liver transplantation (LDLT). Examinations before LDLT revealed that the recipient had ...anti-Jr
and preformed donor-specific anti-human leukocyte antigen (HLA) antibodies (DSA). Rituximab was administrated at 16 days prior to the patient's scheduled LDLT for the prophylaxis of antibody-mediated rejection by DSA. The clinical significance of anti-Jr
has not been clearly established because of the rarity of this antibody, so we discussed blood transfusion strategy with the Department of Blood Transfusion Service and prepared for Jr
-negative packed red blood cells (RBCs). Intraoperative blood salvage was used during LDLT procedures to reduce the use of packed RBCs. Although post-transplantation graft function was excellent, a total of 44 U of Jr
-negative RBCs were transfused during the entire perioperative period. Because sufficient amounts of Jr
-negative packed RBCs were supplied, Jr
mismatched blood transfusion was avoided. The patient was discharged from our hospital on postoperative day 102 without clinical evidence of any blood transfusion-related adverse events. Although there are some controversies of blood transfusion related to anti-Jr
antibodies, the current strategies of blood transfusion for liver transplantation with anti-Jr
are as follows: (1) sufficient supply and transfusion of Jr
-negative matched packed RBCs and (2) application of intraoperative blood salvage to reduce the total amount of rare blood type RBCs. These strategies may be changed when the mechanism of anti-Jr
alloimmunization is fully understood in the future.
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