Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third most common cause of cancer-related deaths. In addition to hepatitis viral infections, several cohort studies have shown that diabetes mellitus is a risk ...factor of HCC, making the incidence alarming high. However, it has not been demonstrated directly how diabetes develops to HCC, because of its difficulty to follow changes of liver histology in diabetic populations. Here, we report that non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is pivotal to link diabetes with HCC by establishing a novel, reproducible NASH–HCC model in mice. Neonatal male mice exposed to low-dose streptozotocin (STZ) developed liver steatosis with diabetes 1 week after feeding high-fat diet (HFD). Continuous HFD decreased hepatic fat deposit whilst increased lobular inflammation with foam cell-like macrophages, showing NASH pathology. In parallel with decreased phagocytosis of macrophages, fibroblasts accumulated to form “chicken-wired” fibrosis. All mice developed multiple HCC later. Female mice treated with STZ–HFD and male mice treated with STZ alone showed diabetes but never developed HCC by the absence of NASH-based fibrosis. Thus, the present study provides the evidence in novel mouse model that NASH-based fibrosis is an essential histological process for diabetic populations to accelerate the development of HCC.
Abstract
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is currently a serious public health concern worldwide. Notably, co-infection with ...other pathogens may worsen the severity of COVID-19 symptoms and increase fatality. Here, we show that co-infection with influenza A virus (IAV) causes more severe body weight loss and more severe and prolonged pneumonia in SARS-CoV-2-infected hamsters. Each virus can efficiently spread in the lungs without interference by the other. However, in immunohistochemical analyses, SARS-CoV-2 and IAV were not detected at the same sites in the respiratory organs of co-infected hamsters, suggesting that either the two viruses may have different cell tropisms in vivo or each virus may inhibit the infection and/or growth of the other within a cell or adjacent areas in the organs. Furthermore, a significant increase in IL-6 was detected in the sera of hamsters co-infected with SARS-CoV-2 and IAV at 7 and 10 days post-infection, suggesting that IL-6 may be involved in the increased severity of pneumonia. Our results strongly suggest that IAV co-infection with SARS-CoV-2 can have serious health risks and increased caution should be applied in such cases.
Mg4(Ta,Nb)2O9 single crystals were synthesized by the floating zone method, and the photoluminescence and scintillation properties were evaluated. Under X-ray irradiation, Mg4Ta2O9 single crystal ...showed an emission peak at 350 nm, while Nb-contained ones showed an emission peak at 400 nm. The decay curves were approximated by one exponential decay function, which indicated the decay time in μs order. Among the samples, Mg4Ta1.5Nb0.5O9 showed the highest light yield of 22,000 ph/MeV and the lowest afterglow levels of ∼10 ppm.
•We have synthesized Mg4(Ta,Nb)2O9 single crystals by floating zone method.•We have characterized the photoluminescence, scintillation, and dosimetric properties.•Ta-contained compositions showed luminescence properties due to the charge transfer from Ta5+ to O2− and oxygen vacancies.•Nb-contained compositions showed luminescence properties derived from the octahedral NbO6 group.•Mg4Ta1·5Nb0·5O9 and Mg4Ta1·0Nb1·0O9 single crystals showed higher light yield than those of practical dense scintillators such as BGO.
Solid state organic scintillators, such as anthracene, stilbene, and p-terphenyl were investigated on their basic scintillation properties and neutron–gamma discrimination capabilities. Scintillation ...wavelengths under X-ray irradiation of anthracene, stilbene, and p-terphenyl were 445–525, 400–500, and 350–450nm, respectively. Scintillation light yields of anthracene, stilbene, and p-terphenyl under 137Cs gamma-ray irradiation were 20100, 16000, and 19400ph/MeV, respectively. Neutron and gamma-ray events discrimination capabilities were examined and anthracene exhibited the best figure of merit among three organic scintillators.
IMAT is a new cold neutron imaging and diffraction instrument located at the second target station of the pulsed neutron spallation source ISIS, UK. A broad range of materials science and materials ...testing areas will be covered by IMAT. We present the characterization of the imaging part, including the energy-selective and energy-dispersive imaging options, and provide the basic parameters of the radiography and tomography instrument. In particular, detailed studies on mono and bi-dimensional neutron beam flux profiles, neutron flux as a function of the neutron wavelength, spatial and energy dependent neutron beam uniformities, guide artifacts, divergence and spatial resolution, and neutron pulse widths are provided. An accurate characterization of the neutron beam at the sample position, located 56 m from the source, is required to optimize collection of radiographic and tomographic data sets and for performing energy-dispersive neutron imaging via time-of-flight methods in particular.
Background
Primary spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP) generally occurs in young adults, whereas pediatric PSP is uncommon. It is difficult to source reliable data on pediatric PSP, the management of ...which is based on guidelines for adult PSP; however, the rate of recurrence after video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) for pediatric PSP is reported to be higher.
Methods
We reviewed retrospectively a collective total of 66 surgical cases of a first pneumothorax episode in 46 children under 16 years of age, who were treated at our hospital between February, 2005 and November, 2017.
Results
The surgical cases were divided into two groups, depending on how the treated lesions were covered. In the dual-covering (DC) group, the PSP was covered by oxidized regenerated cellulose and polyglycolic acid (8 patients; 13 cases) and in the single-covering (SC) group, the PSP was covered by oxidized regenerated cellulose (38 patients; 53 cases). There was no incidence of recurrence after surgery in the DC group, but 17 cases (32.1%) of recurrence after surgery in the SC group. This difference was significant.
Conclusion
The DC method prevented the recurrence of PSP more effectively than the SC method after VATS in pediatric patients. Long-term follow-up after VATS for pediatric PSP is also important because of the risk of delayed recurrence.
•Inflammatory bowel diseases are the chronic recurrent inflammation of the intestine.•An imbalance of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines worsens inflammation in the gut.•Oxidative stress and ER ...stress mediated apoptosis may lead to intestinal damage.•Curcumin can reduce the cytokine infiltration during inflammation.•Antioxidant properties of curcumin also alleviates the disease progression.
Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), mainly Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) are chronic ailments of the gastrointestinal tract, characterized by recurrent inflammation. Current therapeutic strategies are based on the mitigation of symptoms, including inflammatory remission and healing of mucosal manifestations. Extensive studies have suggested that continuous oxidative damage can lead to the inflammatory signaling cascade in IBD. Curcumin, a potent modulator of cell signaling, is popular for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities, and has already been shown remarkable therapeutic results in IBD. Here, we review and discuss the effects of curcumin as a therapeutic agent in the chemoprevention of IBD.
Tonsillectomy with steroid pulse therapy (SPT) has been established as an effective treatment for immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) in Japan. However, the underlying mechanisms supporting ...tonsillectomy remain unclear. This study assessed palatine tonsils from 77 patients with IgAN, including 14 and 63 who received SPT before and after tonsillectomy, respectively. Tonsils from 21 patients with chronic tonsillitis were analyzed as controls. Specific tonsillar lesions were confirmed in patients with IgAN, correlating with active or chronic renal glomerular lesions and SPT. T-nodule and involution of lymphoepithelial symbiosis scores in tonsils correlated with the incidence of active crescents and segmental sclerosis in the glomeruli, respectively. The study revealed an essential role of the tonsil-glomerular axis in early active and late chronic phases. Moreover, the SPT-preceding group demonstrated no changes in the T-nodule score, which correlated with active crescent formation, but exhibited a considerable shrinkage of lymphatic follicles that produced aberrant IgA1. The study underscores the involvement of innate and cellular immunity in IgAN and advocates for tonsillectomy as a necessary treatment alongside SPT for IgAN, based on a stepwise process.
Scintillation and optical stimulated luminescence of Ce 0.1–20% doped CaF2 crystals prepared by Tokuyama Corp. were investigated. In X-ray induced scintillation spectra, luminescence due to Ce3+ ...5d–4f transition appeared around 320 nm with typically 40 ns decay time. By 241Am 5.5 MeV α-ray irradiation, 0.1% doped one showed the highest scintillation light yield and the light yield monotonically decreased with Ce concentrations. Optically stimulated luminescence after X-ray irradiation was observed around 320 nm under 550 or 830 nm stimulation in all samples. As a result, intensities of optically stimulated luminescence were proportional to Ce concentrations. Consequently, scintillation and optically stimulated luminescence resulted to have a complementary relation in Ce-doped CaF2 system.
•Optical, scintillation, and OSL properties of Ce 0.1–20% doped CaF2 were studied.•Scintillation light yield exhibited inverse proportionality to Ce concentrations.•OSL intensities showed proportionality to Ce concentrations.•Complementary relation of scintillation and OSL was experimentally confirmed.
Dourine, caused by infection with Trypanosoma equiperdum, is one of the trypanosomiasis in equids. The clinical course of dourine is long-term, ranging from 1–2 months to several years. Since the ...pathogenesis of dourine has not yet been elucidated, experimental studies using mouse infection models are needed. Although mice are not susceptible to most T. equiperdum strains, some strains can infect mice. Even in such strains, infected mice develop rapidly transient parasitemia and die within 2–8 days. Therefore, mice experimentally infected with these T. equiperdum strains are not suitable for mouse infection models to analysis the pathogenesis of dourine. A sequential method of isolating parasites from dourine-affected horses and adapting them to in vitro cultures using soft agarose media was recently developed. Various T. equiperdum strains adapted to in vitro conditions have been established using this technique. We used one of these strains, the T. equiperdum IVM-t2 strain. In the present study, T. equiperdum IVM-t2 strain inoculated mice developed periodic parasitemia during the experimental period of 60 days. Histopathologically, vaginitis and dermatitis were observed. These findings were comparable to those of dourine-affected horses. Therefore, mice infected with T. equiperdum IVM-t2 strain may be a valuable tool for pathological, immunological, and parasitological in vivo research, and will contribute to investigations on the mechanisms underlying the disease process and the host-parasite relationship.
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