The ideal porous structure of EDLC carbon electrodes with extremely high capacitance

We propose an ideal porous structure of carbon electrodes for electric double-layer capacitors (EDLCs). The porous carbon successfully improved the gravimetric capacitance above ∼200 F g^-1 even in an organic electrolyte by utilizing the carbon nanopore surface more effectively. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy images and X-ray diffraction patterns classified 15 different porous carbon electrodes into slit-shape and worm-like-shape, and the pore size distributions of the carbons were carefully determined applying the grand canonical Monte Carlo method to N₂ adsorption isotherms at 77 K. The ratio of pores where solvated ions and/or desolvated ions can penetrate also has a significant effect on the EDL capacitance as well as the pore shape. The detailed study on the effect of porous morphologies on the EDLC performance indicates that a hierarchical porous structure with a worm-like shaped surface and a pore size ranging from a solvated ion to a solvent molecule is an ideal electrode structure.

Increased metabolite production by deletion of an HDA1-type histone deacetylase in the phytopathogenic fungi, Magnaporthe oryzae (Pyricularia oryzae) and Fusarium asiaticum

Histone deacetylases (HDACs) play an important role in the regulation of chromatin structure and gene expression. We found that dark pigmentation of Magnaporthe oryzae (anamorph Pyricularia oryzae) ΔMohda1, a mutant strain in which an orthologue of the yeast HDA1 was disrupted by double cross-over homologous recombination, was significantly stimulated in liquid culture. Analysis of metabolites in a ΔMohda1 mutant culture revealed that the accumulation of shunt products of the 1,8-dihydroxynaphthalene melanin and ergosterol pathways were significantly enhanced compared to the wild-type strain. Northern blot analysis of the ΔMohda1 mutant revealed transcriptional activation of three melanin genes that are dispersed throughout the genome of M. oryzae. The effect of deletion of the yeast HDA1 orthologue was also observed in Fusarium asiaticum from the Fusarium graminearum species complex; the HDF2 deletion mutant produced increased levels of nivalenol-type trichothecenes. These results suggest that histone modification via HDA1-type HDAC regulates the production of natural products in filamentous fungi.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

Natural products of fungi have significant impacts on human welfare, in both detrimental and beneficial ways. Although HDA1-type histone deacetylase is not essential for vegetative growth, deletion of the gene affects the expression of clustered secondary metabolite genes in some fungi. Here, we report that such phenomena are also observed in physically unlinked genes required for melanin biosynthesis in the rice blast fungus. In addition, production of Fusarium trichothecenes, previously reported to be unaffected by HDA1 deletion, was significantly upregulated in another Fusarium species. Thus, the HDA1-inactivation strategy may be regarded as a general approach for overproduction and/or discovery of fungal metabolites.

Identification of novel BCL11A variants in patients with epileptic encephalopathy: Expanding the phenotypic spectrum

BCL11A encodes a zinc finger protein that is highly expressed in hematopoietic tissues and the brain, and that is known to function as a transcriptional repressor of fetal hemoglobin (HbF). Recently, de novo variants in BCL11A have been reported in individuals with intellectual disability syndrome without epilepsy. In this study, we performed whole-exome sequencing of 302 patients with epileptic encephalopathies (EEs), and identified 2 novel BCL11A variants, c.577delC (p.His193Metfs*3) and c.2351A>C (p.Lys784Thr). Both the patients shared major physical features characteristic of BCL11A-related intellectual disability syndrome, suggesting that characteristic physical features and the persistence of HbF should lead clinicians to suspect EEs caused by BCL11A pathogenic variants. Patient 1, with a frameshift variant, presented with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, which expands the phenotypic spectrum of BCL11A haploinsufficiency. Patient 2, with a p.Lys784Thr variant, presented with West syndrome followed by drug-resistant focal seizures and more severe developmental disability. These 2 newly described patients contribute to delineating the associated, yet uncertain phenotypic characteristics of BCL11A disease-causing variants.

Flow Analysis for a Flow Channel Instrument to Evaluate Viscosities of Non-Newtonian Viscoelastic Liquid Foods

To develop a structurally simple and easy-to-use viscometer for liquid foods, flow measurements and analyses were done in a flow channel instrument. Newtonian and non-Newtonian test liquids respectively employed in the experiments show viscosity and viscoelasticity. Changes of the modified friction coefficient during the flow processes characterized viscous flow in the instrument. The elasticity was found to be dominant in the early process, reducing the flow as a function of the relative magnitude of liquid viscoelasticity.

A motional Stark effect diagnostic analysis routine for improved resolution of iota in the core of the large helical device

A new Motional Stark Effect (MSE) analysis routine has been developed for improved spatial resolution in the core of the Large Helical Device (LHD). The routine was developed to reduce the dependency of the analysis on the Pfirsch-Schlüter (PS) current in the core. The technique used the change in the polarization angle as a function of flux in order to find the value of diota/dflux at each measurement location. By integrating inwards from the edge, the iota profile can be recovered from this method. This reduces the results' dependency on the PS current because the effect of the PS current on the MSE measurement is almost constant as a function of flux in the core; therefore, the uncertainty in the PS current has a minimal effect on the calculation of the iota profile. In addition, the VMEC database was remapped from flux into r/a space by interpolating in mode space in order to improve the database core resolution. These changes resulted in a much smoother iota profile, conforming more to the physics expectations of standard discharge scenarios in the core of the LHD.

Hydraulic Design and Power Characterization of Closed Turbine-Type Agitator

Designs of impeller as an agitator with alteration and modification of a conventional turbine type impeller were proposed to improve the power characteristics and to provide a favorable efficiency. For development of the turbine type impeller, a concept of the alterative design was for the impeller blades to transmit fully energy. This impeller has shrouds structurally and was named “closed impeller”. For baffled vessels agitated by the closed impellers, the internal liquid flow as well as the bulk liquid flow were examined to be analyzed for energy consideration. The closed impeller being modified, its internal flow was observed to be appreciably smooth along the blade surfaces. In evaluation in terms of hydraulic and energetic efficiencies indicating the phenomenon in the impeller swept region and that in the rest, respectively, the closed impellers were demonstrated to have improved power characteristics as an increased transmission and consequent uniformized dissipation.

Classical Spin Nematic Transition in LiGa_{0.95}In_{0.05}Cr_{4}O_{8}

We present the results of a combined ^{7}Li-NMR and diffraction study on LiGa_{0.95}In_{0.05}Cr_{4}O_{8}, a member of the LiGa_{1-x}In_{x}Cr_{4}O_{8} "breathing" pyrochlore family. Via specific heat and NMR measurements, we find that the complex sequence of first-order transitions observed for LiGaCr_{4}O_{8} is replaced by a single second-order transition at T_{f}=11  K. Neutron and x-ray diffraction rule out both structural symmetry lowering and magnetic long-range order as the origin of this transition. Instead, reverse Monte Carlo fitting of the magnetic diffuse scattering indicates that the low-temperature phase may be described as a collinear spin nematic state, characterized by a quadrupolar order parameter. This state also shows signs of short-range order between collinear spin arrangements on tetrahedra, revealed by mapping the reverse Monte Carlo spin configurations onto a three-state color model.

Intensity-modulated radiotherapy using two static ports of tomotherapy for breast cancer after conservative surgery: dosimetric comparison with other treatment methods and 3-year clinical results

This study investigated the differences in dose-volume parameters for the breast and normal tissues during TomoDirectTM (TD) intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), TD-3D conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT) and 3DCRT plans, all using two beams, and analyzed treatment outcomes of two-beam TD-IMRT for breast cancer after breast-conserving surgery. Between August 2011 and January 2015, 152 patients were treated using two-beam TD-IMRT with 50 Gy/25 fractions. Among them, 20 patients with left-sided breast cancer were randomly chosen, and two-beam TD-IMRT, TD-3DCRT and 3DCRT plans were created for each patient. The homogeneity and conformity indices and various dose-volume parameters for the planning target volume and OARs were evaluated. Clinical outcomes were evaluated at 3 years. Toxicities were evaluated using the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events version 4.0. TD-IMRT and TD-3DCRT showed better whole-breast coverage than 3DCRT (P < 0.001). Most of the mean values of dosimetric endpoints for OARs were better in TD-IMRT than in TD-3DCRT and 3DCRT. Overall survival rates were 97.7% and local control rates were 99.1% at 3 years. Regional control and distant metastasis control rates at 3 years were 98.6% and 96.8%, respectively. Twenty-four of the 152 patients had Grade 2 or higher acute radiation dermatitis. Four patients (4/146 = 2.7%) had Grade 2 radiation pneumonitis. There were no late adverse events of Grade 2 or higher. Two-beam TD-IMRT appeared to yield better dose distribution for whole-breast external-beam radiation therapy than TD-3DCRT and two-beam 3DCRT. The treatment appeared to provide low skin toxicity and acceptable tumor control.

A baseline impedance analysis in neurologically impaired children: A potent parameter for estimating the condition of the esophageal mucosa

BACKGROUND

The aim of the present study was to investigate whether the baseline impedance (BI) value is a useful parameter to evaluate the condition of the esophageal mucosa in neurologically impaired (NI) children undergoing multichannel intraluminal impedance pH measurements (pH/MII).

METHODS

The retrospective study included 55 NI patients ≤15 years. The patients were divided into acid gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), non-acid GERD and GERD (-) groups. Furthermore, the patients in the acid GERD group were subdivided into erosive reflux disease (ERD) and non-erosive reflux disease (NERD) groups. pH/MII parameters and BI values (Z1-6) were compared among three groups or between two groups, respectively. A Spearman's correlation analysis was used for the correlation analysis of pH/MII parameters and BI values. A receiver operator characteristic curve analysis was used to evaluate the optimum cut-off values of BI to discriminate ERD patients.

KEY RESULTS

The BI values of the proximal and the distal channels in ERD group were significantly lower than those in NERD group. The BI values of the distal channels demonstrated significant negative correlations with acid exposure related pH/MII parameters. The optimal cut off value of BI in the most distal channel was determined to be 1500 Ω.

CONCLUSIONS & INFERENCES

The present study suggested that NI children with reflux esophagitis were likely to suffer mucosal damage up to the proximal esophagus and cut-off BI values may help estimate the presence of reflux esophagitis. Baseline impedance is a potent parameter, reflecting the esophageal mucosal damage in NI children who have difficulty in undergoing endoscopic examinations.

Embryonic development of the grass pufferfish (Takifugu niphobles): From egg to larvae

Tetraodontidae (pufferfish) family members carry the smallest genomes among vertebrates, and these pocket-sized genomes have directly contributed to our understanding of the structure and evolution of higher animals. The grass pufferfish (Takifugu niphobles) could be considered a potential new model organism for comparative genomics and development due to the potential access to embryos, and availability of sequence data for two similar genomes: that of spotted green pufferfish (Tetraodon nigroviridis) and Fugu (Takifugu rubripes). In this study, we provide the first description of the normal embryonic development of T. niphobles, by drawing comparisons with the closely related species cited above. Embryos were obtained by in vitro fertilization of eggs, and subsequent development was monitored at a constant temperature consistent with natural conditions. T. niphobles development was divided into seven periods of embryogenesis: the zygote, cleavage, blastula, gastrula, segmentation, pharyngula, and hatching periods; and stages subdividing these periods are defined based on morphological characteristics. The developmental stage series described in this study aims to provide the utilization of T. niphobles as an experimental model organism for comparative developmental studies.

High-resolution copy number variation analysis of schizophrenia in Japan

Recent schizophrenia (SCZ) studies have reported an increased burden of de novo copy number variants (CNVs) and identified specific high-risk CNVs, although with variable phenotype expressivity. However, the pathogenesis of SCZ has not been fully elucidated. Using array comparative genomic hybridization, we performed a high-resolution genome-wide CNV analysis on a mainly (92%) Japanese population (1699 SCZ cases and 824 controls) and identified 7066 rare CNVs, 70.0% of which were small (<100 kb). Clinically significant CNVs were significantly more frequent in cases than in controls (odds ratio=3.04, P=9.3 × 10^-9, 9.0% of cases). We confirmed a significant association of X-chromosome aneuploidies with SCZ and identified 11 de novo CNVs (e.g., MBD5 deletion) in cases. In patients with clinically significant CNVs, 41.7% had a history of congenital/developmental phenotypes, and the rate of treatment resistance was significantly higher (odds ratio=2.79, P=0.0036). We found more severe clinical manifestations in patients with two clinically significant CNVs. Gene set analysis replicated previous findings (e.g., synapse, calcium signaling) and identified novel biological pathways including oxidative stress response, genomic integrity, kinase and small GTPase signaling. Furthermore, involvement of multiple SCZ candidate genes and biological pathways in the pathogenesis of SCZ was suggested in established SCZ-associated CNV loci. Our study shows the high genetic heterogeneity of SCZ and its clinical features and raises the possibility that genomic instability is involved in its pathogenesis, which may be related to the increased burden of de novo CNVs and variable expressivity of CNVs.

Superconductivity in a chiral nanotube

Chirality of materials are known to affect optical, magnetic and electric properties, causing a variety of nontrivial phenomena such as circular dichiroism for chiral molecules, magnetic Skyrmions in chiral magnets and nonreciprocal carrier transport in chiral conductors. On the other hand, effect of chirality on superconducting transport has not been known. Here we report the nonreciprocity of superconductivity—unambiguous evidence of superconductivity reflecting chiral structure in which the forward and backward supercurrent flows are not equivalent because of inversion symmetry breaking. Such superconductivity is realized via ionic gating in individual chiral nanotubes of tungsten disulfide. The nonreciprocal signal is significantly enhanced in the superconducting state, being associated with unprecedented quantum Little-Parks oscillations originating from the interference of supercurrent along the circumference of the nanotube. The present results indicate that the nonreciprocity is a viable approach toward the superconductors with chiral or noncentrosymmetric structures.

Chirality affects many properties of materials, but how it affects superconductivity remains unclear. Here, Qin et al. report nonreciprocal supercurrent flows in individual nanotubes of WS₂ via ionic gating, evidencing chiral superconducting transport.

Abstract P3-13-17: A multi-center prospective study of radiofrequency ablation therapy for small breast carcinomas

Background: As the management of breast carcinoma evolves toward less invasive treatments, the next step is the possibility of removing the primary tumor without surgery. The most promising noninvasive ablation technique is radiofrequency ablation (RFA), which can effectively kill tumor cells with a low complication rate. Our preliminary studies of RFA followed by standard surgical resection have indicated that this technique is effective for surgical ablation of small (≤ 2cm) breast tumors without extensive intraductal components (EIC).

Methods: To determine if RFA is oncologically and cosmetically appropriate for the local treatment of primary breast carcinoma, this multi-center prospective study used RFA as the sole local treatment of breast tumors ≤ 1.5cm in size on ultrasound and MRI. Exclusion criteria include receiving of preoperative chemotherapy, or the presence of invasive lobular carcinoma or invasive ductal carcinoma with suspicious EIC. After confirmation that the standard baseline core biopsy for diagnosis and measurement of tumors markers (ER, PgR, HER-2/neu expression and the presence of the Ki-67 proliferative marker) have been obtained, consent will be obtained and the patient scheduled RFA. All patients received adjuvant radiation therapy. The use and choice of systemic therapy will be based on the information from the baseline core biopsy. The first primary endpoints of this study is successful tumor ablation, as evidenced by negative findings on vacuum-assisted or core biopsies and imaging studies after RFA. The second primary endpoints is the incidence of procedure related adverse events. Forty patients with small tumors that are clearly identifiable and measurable by ultrasound and MRI were enrolled. The response to ablation was evaluated with both vacuum-assisted or core biopsies and imaging studies every 3 months during the first year. The long-term outcomes were assessed using quality of life measurement scales and imaging studies every 6 months thereafter through year 5.

Results: Of the 58 patients who participated in this study, 55 completed the protocol. In 48 of the 55 (87%) treated patients, successful tumor ablation, as determined by negative findings on vacuum-assisted or core biopsies and imaging studies, was confirmed. The remaining 7 patients with biopsies positive for residual tumor underwent surgical resection. There were no local or distant recurrences in treated 55 patients with a median follow up of 47 (range 36-73) months.

Conclusions: RFA can be safely used alone in patients with small breast tumors, provided that local tumor control must be regularly assessed by image-guided vacuum-assisted or core biopsies after ablation. RFA has several potential advantages over lumpectomy for the treatment of early stage breast cancer.

Citation Format: Kinoshita T, Ohtani S, Doihara H, Yamamoto N, Takahashi M, Fujisawa T, Aogi K, Hojo T, Asaga S, Yoshida M, Tsuda H. A multi-center prospective study of radiofrequency ablation therapy for small breast carcinomas [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2016 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2016 Dec 6-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P3-13-17.

Design of tangential viewing phase contrast imaging for turbulence measurements in JT-60SA

A tangential viewing phase contrast imaging system is being designed for the JT-60SA tokamak to investigate microturbulence. In order to obtain localized information on the turbulence, a spatial-filtering technique is applied, based on magnetic shearing. The tangential viewing geometry enhances the radial localization. The probing laser beam is injected tangentially and traverses the entire plasma region including both low and high field sides. The spatial resolution for an Internal Transport Barrier discharge is estimated at 30%-70% of the minor radius at k = 5 cm^-1, which is the typical expected wave number of ion scale turbulence such as ion temperature gradient/trapped electron mode.

An Acute Mercuric Mercury Poisoning: Chemical Speciation of Hair Mercury Shows a Peak of Inorganic Mercury Value

A woman ingested a dose of sublimate (approximately 0.9 g) in an attempted suicide. She survived and recovered in response to a combination of therapies including chelate (BAL) therapy, plasma exchange, haemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis.

Serum inorganic mercury concentration, urinary inorganic mercury excretion and hair inorganic and organic mercury and selenium concentrations, along the length from the scalp to the distal part, were measured. Longitudinal analysis of hair, revealed a peak in inorganic mercury corresponding to the time of mercury ingestion. Organic mercury and selenium in the hair had different patterns of longitudinal variation from that of inorganic mercury. The biological half-life (23.5 d) of serum inorganic mercury levels was in good agreement with values previously reported in the literature.

Autoimmune pancreatitis as the initial presentation of systemic lupus erythematosus

Pancreatitis is a relatively rare complication in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Here we present a case of SLE associated with autoimmune pancreatitis. A 37-year old woman was admitted to our hospital because of fever, skin rash, proteinuria and abdominal pain. A diagnosis of SLE was made based on her clinical, laboratory and renal histological findings showing diffuse proliferative lupus nephritis. Elevated serum amylase, typical radiographic findings and selective increase in serum IgG4 all suggested that the patient also had autoimmune pancreatitis. Systemic administration of glucocorticoid successfully induced remission of pancreatitis and nephritis along with the reduction of IgG4. Autoimmune pancreatitis is a newly recognized type of pancreatitis, in which IgG4 immune response is thought to participate pathophysiologically. Although the disease has been observed to develop in patients having various connective tissue diseases, our report is the first to describe IgG4 related autoimmune pancreatitis in a patient with SLE.