11 research outputs found
The Current Status and Future Prospects of KAGRA, the Large-Scale Cryogenic Gravitational Wave Telescope Built in the Kamioka Underground
No full textKAGRA is a gravitational-wave (GW) detector constructed in Japan with two unique key features: It was constructed underground, and the test-mass mirrors are cooled to cryogenic temperatures. These features are not included in other kilometer-scale detectors but will be adopted in future detectors such as the Einstein Telescope. KAGRA performed its first joint observation run with GEO600 in 2020. In this observation, the sensitivity of KAGRA to GWs was inferior to that of other kilometer-scale detectors such as LIGO and Virgo. However, further upgrades to the detector are ongoing to reach the sensitivity for detecting GWs in the next observation run, which is scheduled for 2022. In this article, the current situation, sensitivity, and future perspectives are reviewed
Extracts of Larix Leptolepis effectively augments the generation of tumor antigen-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes via activation of dendritic cells in TLR-2 and TLR-4-dependent manner
No full textType-1 immunity plays a crucial role in host defense against various tumors and infectious diseases. Here, we first demonstrated that extract of Larix Leptolepis (ELL), one of the most popular timbers at Hokkaido area in Japan, strongly activated Type-1 immunity. ELL induced production of Type-1 cytokines such as IL-12 and TNF-α from bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDCs) in TLR2- and TLR4-dependent manner and remarkably up-regulated the expression of MHC and co-stimulatory molecules. In addition, antigen-specific CTLs were significantly augmented by the combined administration of ELL, antigen and BMDCs. Finally, we revealed that combination therapy using ELL, antigen and BMDCs significantly inhibited the growth of established tumor in mouse model. Thus, these findings suggested that ELL would be a novel adjuvant for inducing an activation of Type-1-dependent immunity including activation of BMDCs and induction of tumor-specific CTLs, which is applicable to the therapy of cancer and infectious diseases
CANOMAD mimicking anti-MAG/SGPG neuropathy: A case highlighting the diagnostic specificity of ophthalmoplegia and cold agglutination
No full textAnti-myelin-associated glycoprotein/sulfated glucuronyl paragloboside (MAG/SGPG) neuropathy is a major differential diagnosis for sensory ataxic neuropathy with IgM κ type M proteinemia. Alternatively and less commonly, an important differential diagnosis for chronic sensory ataxic neuropathy with IgM κ type M proteinemia is chronic ataxic neuropathy with ophthalmoplegia, M proteinemia, cold agglutinins, and disialosyl antibodies (CANOMAD), which has been reported to respond to therapies such as intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg). Confusingly, this case tested positive for anti-SGPG antibodies despite CANOMAD.A 68-year-old man had sensory ataxia, IgM κ type M protein, prolongation of distal latency without conduction block, and was positive for anti-SGPG IgM antibodies, which could be the misdiagnosis of anti-MAG/SGPG neuropathy. However, the patient had ptosis, binocular diplopia, cold agglutination, and anti-GQ1b IgM antibodies, fulfilling all the key features of CANOMAD. Consistently, IVIg therapy improved both clinical symptoms and electrophysiological findings. After that, anti-MAG antibody testing returned negative results.Here, we report a case of CANOMAD with the presence of misleading anti-SGPG antibodies, revealing the risk of misdiagnosis because of reliance on anti-SGPG antibodies in the diagnosis of sensory ataxic neuropathy. The present case also emphasized that ocular symptoms (ptosis, binocular diplopia), and cold agglutination were more specific keys to the initial diagnosis of CANOMAD. The accurate diagnosis of CANOMAD may benefit patients by enabling appropriate treatment selection
Nerve-Sparing Robotic-Assisted Radical Prostatectomy Based on the Absence of Prostate Imaging-Reporting and Data System ≥3 or Biopsy Gleason Pattern ≥4 in the Peripheral Zone
No full textBackground/Objectives: The objective of this study was to evaluate the oncological outcomes and safety of nerve-sparing (NS) robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) when applied without Prostate Imaging-Reporting and Data System (PI-RADS) ≥3 lesions or Gleason pattern ≥4 on biopsy in the peripheral zone (PZ). Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 208 patients who underwent RARP between August 2017 and December 2022, excluding those who had received preoperative hormonal therapy. After NS status stratification and patient characteristic adjustment using propensity score matching (PSM), positive resection margin (RM) rates and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) recurrence-free survival were compared. Urinary and sexual quality of life (QOL) were assessed using the Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite, along with predictive factors associated with positive RM and RM locations in the NS group. Results: NS was performed in 68.6% (n = 129) patients. After PSM, there were no significant differences in RM positivity (p = 0.811) or PSA recurrence-free survival (Log-rank p = 0.79), regardless of NS status. There was no difference in sexual function between groups, but urinary QOL was significantly better in the NS group from the third month onward. In the NS group, RM positivity was 27.9% (n = 36), and diagnostic PSA (odds ratio [OR], 1.110, p = 0.038) and clinical T stage (OR, 1.400, p = 0.038) were predictive factors. The RM positivity rate on the NS side was 10.8%. Conclusions: NS, based on the absence of PI-RADS ≥3 lesions or Gleason pattern ≥4 in PZ, did not increase RM positivity rate and increased early urinary QOL
Representations of girls in Japanese Magical Girl TV animation programmes from 1966 to 2003 and Japanese female audiences' understanding of them
No full textAs a Japanese cultural genre, animated works for girls serve as sociocultural texts which articulate hegemonic social norms and ideologies regarding gender in Japanese society. This thesis aims to critically examine representations of 'magical girl' protagonists in Jpanese Magical Girl TV animation programmes (anime) for girls from 1966 to 2003, and to analyse female audiences' viewing experiences and understanding of those programmes in relation to the context of sociocultural and feminist movements in Japan. By using a combined methodology of close textual analysis of six Magical Girl TV anime and of qualitative research, in which individual interviews with female audiences and a focus group discussion among girl audiences were conducted, this thesis explores how representations of Western-oriented witches and witchcraft in the Magical Girl TV anime facilitated constructions of female gender identity and idealised 'self' and how actual female audiences in three different age cohorts understood, took pleasure in, consumed, negotiated, resonated with and/or reconciled with those representations.
Although Japanese witch animation texts articulated Japanese normative moral values and hegemonic femininity as well as ideal gender equality, they served as sites in which female audiences took pleasure in constructing an ideal 'self' and self-assertion through negotiating, resonating and reconciling with Western-oriented fashionable female protagonists and their lifestyle, and attaining self-expression through 'textual poaching' or exercising imagined magical transformations in an all-female or solitary environment. This thesis attempts to contribute to uncovering little-explored but important Japanese cultural texts of Magical Girl TV anime and explicate the way in which actual Japanese audiences responded to this gender-segregated genre of Japanese TV anime
Relation between Material Emission, Mass Loss Rate and their Thermophysical Properties to Support Artificial Meteor Design
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