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Shinichi Itoh1, Tetsuya Yokoo1, Takatsugu Masuda2, Hideki Yoshizawa2, Minoru Soda2, Yoichi Ikeda2, Soshi Ibuka1, Daichi Kawana1, Taku J. Sato3, Yusuke Nambu3, Keitaro Kuwahara4, Shin-ichiro Yano5, Jun Akimitsu5, Yoshio Kaneko6, Yoshinori Tokura6,7, Masaki Fujita8, Masashi Hase9, Kazuaki Iwasa10, Haruhiro Hiraka1, Tatsuo Fukuda11, Kazuhiko Ikeuchi12, Koji Yoshida13 Toshio Yamaguchi13, Kanta Ono1, Yasuo Endoh1,6,8 1Institute of Materials Structure Science, High Energy Accelerator Research Organization, Tsukuba 305-0801, Japan 2The Institute for Solid State Physics, The University of Tokyo, Tokai 319-1106, Japan 3Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8577, Japan 4Institute of Applied Beam Science, Ibaraki University, Mito 310-8512, Japan 5Department of Physics and Mathematics, Aoyama Gakuin University, Sagamihara 252-5258, Japan 6RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter of Science, Wako 351-0198, Japan 7Department of Applied Physics, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan 8Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8577, Japan 9National Institute for Materials Science, Tsukuba 305-0047, Japan 10Department of Physics, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8578, Japan 11Quantum Beam Science Center, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Sayo 679-5148, Japan 12Comprehensive Research Organization for Science and Society, Tokai 319-1106, Japan 13Department of Chemistry, Fukuoka University, Fukuoka 814-0180, Japan

Background The histological pattern of pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis (PPFE) is well defined, but its clinical features remain unclear. Methods We retrospectively examined the predominantly involved lung-fields (based on abnormal opacities on computed tomography [CT] images), and the initial value and annual decline of respiratory function in patients with pulmonary fibrosis presenting with histologically confirmed PPFE. Results Thirteen female and nine male subjects were included. Eleven interpreters independently analyzed 231 CT image series. One-third of the CT series (78/231) was interpreted as demonstrating equal involvement of the upper and lower lung fields, i.e., six out of 21 patients had equal involvement of the upper and lower lung fields, based on a majority decision of the interpreters. The residual volume/total lung capacity (RV/TLC) was increased and correlated inversely with forced vital capacity (FVC) at the initial measurement. FVC followed two patterns of decline over time: a gradual decline over a follow-up period of more than 6 years (−55mL/year, R 2 =0.799), and a relatively rapid decline over a shorter period (−364mL/year, R 2 =0.855) as determined by mixed-effect linear regression. Conclusions The predominantly involved sites seen on CT images of PPFE were not limited to the upper lobes. In some cases, upper lung fields were predominantly involved, but in other cases, both upper and lower lung fields were equally involved. Two patterns of FVC decline exists: a rapid decline over a short period and a slow decline over a longer period, suggesting that the disease follows a heterogeneous clinical course.

Treatment for pulmonary nontuberculous mycobacteriosis is difficult. Since current treatment has limitation, new application is needed. Fluoroquinolone is one of candidates. We have investigated the feasibility of sitafloxacin (STFX). At first, the drug of MIC (minimum inhibitory concentration) was determined by the methods based on BrothMIC NTM. The MICs of STFX, moxifloxacin (MFLX), gatifloxacin (GFLX) were low. On contrast, the MICs of garenoxacin (GRNX) and tosufloxacin (TFLX) were high. Two cases of pulmonary Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare complex (MAC) disease were treated by STFX-contained regimen. In all cases of pulmonary MAC disease, improve of symptoms and chest CT images were attained. Adverse events were slight. These MIC studies and case reports suggest that STFX might have excellent in vitro and in vivo antimicrobial activities against MAC and is considered to be a candidate for the medication against pulmonary MAC disease.

Pulmonary MAC disease causes pulmonary involvement, such as bronchiectasis and small nodules, particularly in the middle lobe and lingular segment. An evaluation of the efficacy of pulmonary MAC disease treatment is difficult. The investigation of biomarkers against MAC infection may lead to a more precise evaluation of the treatment for MAC infection. We experienced several cases of pulmonary MAC disease and found carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) concentrations correlated with the activity of pulmonary MAC disease. In this study, we evaluated the role of CA19-9 as a biomarker in pulmonary MAC disease. We found an elevation of CA19-9 during pulmonary MAC disease, but not in tuberculosis, suggesting a relationship between CA19-9 and the disease activity in the elevated CA19-9 group. CA19-9 may be a promising biomarker for the evaluation of the disease activity of pulmonary MAC disease.

Introduction: Pulmonary Mycobacterium avium disease is a chronic and progressive disease that is known to be difficult to treat. Active hexose correlated compound (AHCC) is an extract obtained by culturing mycelia of Basidiomycota. AHCC is reported to attenuate several experimental animal infection models. We hypothesized that AHCC could attenuate pulmonary M. avium disease in mice. Methods: Mycobacterium avium (108 cfu/head) was administered intratracheally into mice (C57/BL6). Infected mice were supplied with 1,000 mg/kg/day of AHCC by oral administration until euthanasia. The mice were sacrificed at seven days later or 21 days later after M. avium infection. The lung homogenates were cultured on Middlebrook 7H10 agar plates for bacterial colony counts. Additionally, the number of inflammatory cells in the lungs was analyzed by FACS. Tissue sections of the lungs were stained by hematoxylin and eosin or Ziehl-Neelsen methods. In addition, the number of bacterial colonies in the macrophages was counted in vitro. Approximately 1x106 macrophages were incubated with M. avium at an MOI of 10 with or without 1 mg/ml of AHCC. Results: The administration of AHCC improved lung inflammation caused by M. avium according to the histology results and decreased number of M. avium in the lungs. In the analysis of lung inflammatory cells, the number of TNFR1 cells and NK cells remained unchanged by AHCC administration, however, the number of TNFR2 cells slightly increased. There was no difference in the number of M. avium in macrophages treated with or without AHCC in the in vitro study. Conclusion: AHCC plays a protective role in a murine model of pulmonary M. avium disease.

To investigate the origin of the enhanced Tc ({\approx} 110 K) of the trilayer cuprate superconductor Bi2Sr2Ca2Cu3O10+{\delta} (Bi-2223), its underdoped single crystals are a critical requirement. Here, we demonstrate the first successful in-plane resistivity measurements of heavily underdoped Bi-2223 (zero-resistivity temperatures {\approx} 20~35 K). Detailed crystal growth methods, the annealing process, as well as X-ray diffraction (XRD) and magnetic susceptibility measurement results are also reported., Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, 27th International Symposium on Superconductivity, ISS 2014, to appear in Physics Procedia

Mycobacterium avium causes chronic and progressive respiratory infection. A therapeutic regimen including clarithromycin, rifampin and ethambutol has been commonly employed, however, the effect of such antibacterial therapy is often unsatisfactory. Doxycycline is an antibiotic known to have immuno-modulating effects as well as antibacterial activity. In this study, we investigated the effect of doxycycline administration on M. avium infection in mice. The administration of doxycycline attenuated lung inflammation caused by M. avium according to the results from a histology analysis and the number of inflammatory cells from BAL fluids. Moreover, doxycycline improved the survival rate in TNF-R1 KO mice infected with M. avium. However, doxycycline did not affect the colony number of M. avium in the lungs. These results suggest that doxycycline may have protective effects against M. avium induced inflammation in mice. The effects of doxycycline may be due to its biological effect apart from its antimicrobial function.

The buckling of CuO2 plane in single crystals of La2−xSrxCuO4 (LSCO) [x = 0.08] and La2−x−yBaySrxCuO4 (LBSCO) [x = 0.06 , y = 0.065] was directly observed by high-field Cu-NMR spectra. The split pattern in the NMR spectra of LSCO [x = 0.08] shows that the local structure is Low Temperature Orthorhombic (LTO) like at low temperature, consistent with the results reported by diffraction experiments. In LBCO [x = 0.08], the local structure is Low Temperature Tetragonal (LTT) like, while the averaged structure is reported to be LTO. In LBSCO, the local structure is found to be either LTT-like or Low Temperature Less- Orthorhombic (LTLO) between 35 and 70 K, while the averaged structure is reported to be LTO. With decreasing temperature, the resonance peak disappeared below 35 K, indicating the appearance of Charge Density Wave (CDW) or Spin Density Wave (SDW).

Magnetic field-effect on spin-density-wave (SDW) order was studied for the single crystals of La2−xBaxCuO4 with x = 0.10 (Tc = 24 K) and x = 0.125 (Tc < 5 K) by neutron-scattering measurements. At zero field, incommensurate peaks from both SDW and charge-density-wave (CDW) orders were observed below 40 K (50 K) in the former (latter) sample. Applying the field of 10 T perpendicular to the CuO2 plane, the magnetic intensity in the x = 0.10 sample was enhanced with the rate of 20% of that at 0 T, while in the x = 0.125 sample no obvious field-effect on SDW order was confirmed under the field up to 10 T. These results suggest that the magnetic field induces enhancement of static SDW order in the superconducting sample and does not affect the well-stabilized SDW order in the non-superconducting sample of the LBCO system at x ~ 1/8.

We investigated the infinite-layer electron-doped cuprate superconductor ( Sr 1 - x La x ) CuO 2 with the muon spin relaxation ( μ SR ) technique. Zero-field measurements detect a slowing down of magnetic moments at a characteristic temperature ( T N 1 ) , below which the volume fraction of the magnetic region increases as the sample is cooled. Below the doping concentration x 0.10 , an onset of the (quasi) static order occurs at another characteristic temperature ( T N 2 ) . The magnetic volume fraction increases under application of a magnetic field, suggesting that magnetism may be enhanced by an external field. As a function of the doping concentration, the superconducting transition temperature ( T c ≈ 42 K ) remains constant, but the Meissner fraction reaches a maximum at x = 0.1 . The transverse-field μ SR exhibits an increase of the relaxation rate below T c , which reaches to σ ( T → 0 ) ≈ 4.5 μ s - 1 for x = 0.1 doping. This relaxation rate is about 4 times larger than the one expected from the Uemura relation, and there may be a contribution from the field-induced magnetism to the relaxation rate.

The administration of doxycycline prior to bleomycin in mice attenuated pulmonary fibrosis. Bronchoalveolar neutrophil influx and gelatinase activity, but not caseinolytic activity, were attenuated by doxycycline. Established fibrosis was not affected by doxycycline. Thus, doxycycline might be useful for slowing down pulmonary fibrosis by biological activity other than antibacterial activity.

We have recently used inelastic neutron scattering to measure the magnetic excitation spectrum of La 1.875 Ba 0.125 CuO 4 up to 200 meV. This particular cuprate is of interest because it exhibits static charge and spin stripe order. The observed spectrum is remarkably similar to that found in superconducting YBa 2 Cu 3 O 6+ x and La 2− x Sr x CuO 4 ; the main differences are associated with the spin gap. We suggest that essentially all observed features of the magnetic scattering from cuprate superconductors can be described by a universal magnetic excitation spectrum multiplied by a spin gap function with a material-dependent spin-gap energy.

A pregnant 26-year-old woman developed hemosputum, dyspnea and pneumothorax. Lymphangioleiomyomatosis was suspected based on multiple cystic lesions on chest computed tomography. Additionally, moderate thrombocytopenia occurred during the last trimester. Hyperplasia of megakaryocytes in a bone marrow specimen and a high serum titer of platelet-associated IgG led to a diagnosis of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura. High-dose intravenous gammaglobulin promptly restored her platelet count, and the patient successfully gave birth to a healthy baby by cesarean section. After delivery, lymphangioleiomyomatosis was diagnosed by lung biopsy that was obtained during a video-assisted thoracoscopic abscission for recurrent pneumothorax. Underlying lymphangioleiomyomatosis and idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura may be obviated by pregnancy.

The cuprate high temperature superconductors exhibit a pronounced trend in which the superconducting transition temperature, $T_{\rm c}$, increases with the number of CuO$_2$ planes, $n$, in the crystal structure. We compare the magnetic excitation spectrum of Bi$_{2+x}$Sr$_{2-x}$CuO$_{6+\delta}$ (Bi-2201) and Bi$_2$Sr$_2$Ca$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{10 + \delta}$ (Bi-2223), with $n=1$ and $n=3$ respectively, using Cu $L_3$-edge resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS). Near the anti-nodal zone boundary we find the paramagnon energy in Bi-2223 is substantially higher than that in Bi-2201, indicating that multilayer cuprates host stronger effective magnetic exchange interactions, providing a possible explanation for the $T_{\rm c}$ vs.\ $n$ scaling. In contrast, the nodal direction exhibits very strongly damped, almost non-dispersive excitations. We argue that this implies that the magnetism in the doped cuprates is partially itinerant in nature., Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures

Sixteen infants were analyzed longitudinally from the onset of independent walking to 3 years of age using time parameters, speed and energy recovery. Considerable variation and irregularities were observed in many parameters of infant walking, especially until 13 months of age when infants had difficulty in walking steadily step by step. Infant walking until 3 years of age was characterized by a small braking duration, caused mainly by the forward inclination of the trunk, a large relative stance phase duration, which maintained static balance, short stride length, due to the small range of the lower limb joint angle, and a small recovery of external energy. These characteristics were also predominantly evident until 13 months of age. The small recovery characteristic of infants was caused by flexed lower limb joints, pronounced irregularities in energy output, and in younger infants, slow speed. The maximum recovery up until 2 years of age, though smaller than in adults, appeared at about 0.45 dimensionless speed, which is about the same speed that adults in particular naturally and at which their maximum recovery appeared. The forward inclination of the trunk and the lower limb joint angle, influenced the development of many characteristics of bipedal walking.

We performed zero-field muon spin relaxation/rotation measurements on the electron-doped system Pr 1− x LaCe x Cu 1− y Zn y O 4 to study the impurity effect on spin correlations in both magnetic and superconducting phases. In the antiferromagnetic phase with x = 0.08, the Neel temperature T N decreases monotonically upon Zn substitution, while with approaching the superconducting boundary ( x = 0.10), the effect of Zn substitution on the suppression of T N becomes weak ( x = 0.08). In the superconducting phase, in contrast to the hole-underdoped system, suppression of superconductivity by Zn substitution neither enhance well-defined AF correlations nor induce it at least down to T = 6 K. The impurity effect is discussed from a viewpoint of dilution effect of the Zn on the Cu spin lattice.

We have performed neutron scattering experiment on the single crystals of La 2− x Ba x CuO 4 ( x = 0.10 and 0.125) in order to study the doping dependence of stripe correlations. At low temperatures, clear incommensurate (IC) peaks from spin-density-wave orders (SDW) were observed in both samples. The incommensurability ( δ ) of the SDW in the x = 0.10 sample was found to be 0.110, which slightly deviates from the simple relation of δ = x seen in La 2− x Sr x CuO 4 , possibly due to the large stripe pinning effect in the low-temperature tetragonal (LTT) structure. The inelastic magnetic signal at the low-energy region below 6 meV drastically changes around the structural transition temperature between LTT and low-temperature orthorhombic (LTO) phases T d2 . Temperature dependences of the peak-width and the incommensurability also show an anomalous behavior at T d2 rather than the spin ordering temperature, T sp . These results suggest that spin correlations are well stabilized in the LTT phase as expected from the stripe model. With further increasing temperature in LTO phase, the incommensurability decreases and the peak-width grows due to the degradation of stripe correlations. However, the stiffness of stripe correlation seen in the low-energy IC spin fluctuations depends on the doping. In the x = 0.10 sample no well-defined magnetic excitation peak was observed below 6 meV at 200 K, while a flat top shaped single peak remains at 6 meV in the x = 0.125 sample. Deviation from the 1/8 doping more easily lose the spatial coherence of spin correlations above T d2 .

X-ray diffraction measurements have been performed to investigate a crystal structure of a precipitation phase in oxygen-reduced Nd 1.85 Ce 0.15 CuO 4+ y (NCCO). A detailed structure analysis of the precipitation phase as well as the parent NCCO phase revealed that the precipitation phase is a cubic (Nd,Ce) 2 O 3 , which is distorted tetragonally by the surrounding NCCO phase. The averaged grain size of the precipitation phase exceeds 200 A parallel to the CuO 2 plane of the parent NCCO, while the size along layered direction is short-ranged (∼30 A). The grain thickness along layered direction is strongly correlated with the homogeneity of superconducting state. The volume fraction of the (Nd,Ce) 2 O 3 phase is about 2%. We also performed electron diffraction as well as microscopy experiment, which confirms that the (Nd,Ce) 2 O 3 phase segregate from the parent NCCO phase and exists as an epitaxial layer along the c -axis.

Surfactant protein A (SP-A) and surfactant protein D (SP-D) are important components of innate immunity that can modify the inflammatory response. However, alterations and regulation of SP-A and SP-D in acute and chronic inflammation are not well defined. In addition, serum SP-D may serve as a biomarker of lung inflammation. We determined the expression of SP-A and SP-D in murine models. To study acute inflammation, we instilled bleomycin intrabronchially. To study chronic lung inflammation, we used a transgenic mouse that overexpresses tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha under the control of the SP-C promoter. These mice have a chronic mononuclear cell infiltration, airspace enlargement, pulmonary hypertension, and focal pulmonary fibrosis. In acute inflammation model, levels of mRNA for all surfactant proteins were reduced after bleomycin administration. However, serum SP-D was increased from days 7 to 28 after instillation. In chronic inflammation model, SP-D mRNA expression was increased, whereas the expression of SP-A, SP-B and SP-C was reduced. Both serum and lung SP-D concentrations were increased in chronic lung inflammation. These data clarified profile of SP-A and SP-D in acute and chronic inflammation and indicated that serum SP-D can serve as a biomarker of lung inflammation in both acute and chronic lung injury in mice.

The Malayan Night Heron Gorsachius melanolophus is a threatened species that inhabits the Yaeyama Island group in the extreme southwest of the Ryukyu Archipelago, southern Japan. The species' distribution in Japan, which has been poorly known, was surveyed on the basis of sound and sight records, and interviews. The species was confirmed to occur on Ishigaki, Iriomote, Kuroshima, Kohama, Taketomi, Hateruma, Yonaguni, Miyako, Kurima, and Tarama islands. This range is wider than expected and records were independent of the area of islands. The past underestimation of the species' range was likely to have been the result of a lack of research effort and the unremarkable ecology and morphology of the species. The population density was found to be higher on Iriomote Is., covered with abundant forest, than on Ishigaki Is. with more degraded forests. Despite the wider than previously thought range, its range is still not very extensive in Japan; furthermore, increasing predators and introduced competit...

The sinusoidal beam chopping system installed in the neutron time-of-flight (TOF) beam line at CYRIC was upgraded during the construction of the new K110 AVF cyclotron. In order to achieve high stability of the RF phase under easy control, a new low-level RF electronics was designed and built using a direct digital synthesizer (DDS). The new control system for the beam chopper was also developed on the basis of programmable logic controllers (PLC). The performance tests were successfully carried out with proton beams from the cyclotron. The present beam chopping system has covered a wide dynamic range from 325.5 to 1000 ns for neutron TOF measurements at CYRIC.

Soft phonon behavior associated with a structural phase transition from the low-temperature-orthorhombic (LTO) phase ($Bmab$ symmetry) to the low-temperature-tetragonal (LTT) phase ($P4_{2}/ncm$ symmetry) was investigated in La$_{1.875}$Ba$_{0.125}$CuO$_{4}$ using neutron scattering. As temperature decreases, the TO-mode at $Z$-point softens and approaches to zero energy around $T_{\rm d2}=62$ K, where the LTO -- LTT transition occurs. Below $T_{\rm d2}$, the phonon hardens quite rapidly and it's energy almost saturates below 50 K. At $T_{\rm d2}$, the energy dispersion of the soft phonon along in-plane direction significantly changes while the dispersion along out-of-plane direction is almost temperature independent. Coexistence between the LTO phase and the LTT phase, seen in both the soft phonon spectra and the peak profiles of Bragg reflection, is discussed in context of the order of structural phase transitions., 6 pages, 8 figures

The static spin structure factor S(Q) of CuGeO3 was determined above its spin-Peierls transition temperature by inelastic neutron scattering. At 20 K, S(Q) has a Lorentzian line shape centered at the antiferromagnetic (AF) zone center. With increasing temperature, however, it splits into two peaks with their centers at incommensurate wave vectors at higher temperatures (70 and 120 K). The observed results are consistent with the prediction by recent numerical studies on the S = 1/2 Heisenberg AF chain with competing spin interactions [I. Harada and Y. Aoyama, (1999) “Static spin structure factor of CuGeO3 above spin-Peierls transition temperature”, J. Phys. Chem. Solids 60, 1105; I. Harada, Y. Nishiyama, Y. Aoyama and S. Mori, (2000) “Spin correlation in the one-dimensional Heisenberg antiferromagnet with competing interactions”, J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 69, (Suppl. A), 339].

Aims: The perforin mediated pathway is the major pathway of cytotoxicity induced by activated T cells and natural killer cells, and may be involved in the development of pulmonary fibrosis. Methods: Perforin and granzyme B expression were examined in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis by means of immunohistochemistry, and perforin knockout mice were used to examine whether or not perforin mediated cytotoxicity participates in the pathophysiology of bleomycin induced pneumopathy. Results: Perforin and granzyme B expression were upregulated in infiltrating lymphocytes in lung tissue from patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis compared with normal lung parenchyma. Perforin and granzyme B expression were upregulated predominantly in infiltrating mononuclear cells after bleomycin instillation in wild-type mice. Although the development of bleomycin induced pneumopathy was not completely prevented, the pathological grade of inflammation and fibrosis, and the number of apoptotic cells in lung tissue, were significantly decreased in perforin knockout mice compared with wild-type mice. Conclusions: These results suggest that perforin mediated apoptosis may be associated with the pathophysiology of lung injury and fibrosis.

The kinematic gait characteristics of six species of birds in three groups were compared. The groups studied were herons (Gray Herons and Little Egrets), ground-feeders (Domestic Pigeons and Gray Starlings), and waterfowl (Pintails and Black-headed Gulls). The results showed that the relative stride frequency was greater in the waterfowl than in the other species. Complementary to this, the amplitude of the movements was smaller in the waterfowl than in the others. These differences between the waterfowl and the other species might be caused by their morphological and/or physiological adaptation to swimming. Another possible cause for these differences was the magnitude of head bobbing, as the ground-feeders and herons, which walk with head bobbing, showed a large relative stride length and excursion angle, while the waterfowl, which do not head-bob, walk with a relatively short stride length and small excursion angle. Moreover, the relative magnitude of head movement during walking was especially large in Little Egrets, which showed an especially large relative stride length and excursion angle. These parameters may have some mechanical relationships with each other.

Previous work has shown that all-trans-retinoic acid reverses elastase induced emphysema in rats. Since there is currently no effective treatment for pulmonary emphysema, the effect of retinoic acid should be further investigated in other adult species. A study was undertaken using two murine models of emphysema to evaluate the effect of retinoic acid.The models used were an elastase induced emphysema model for acute alveolar destruction and a tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha transgenic mouse which exhibits chronic air space enlargement, loss of elastic recoil, increased lung volume, and pulmonary hypertension comparable to human pulmonary emphysema. All-trans-retinoic acid (2 mg/kg) was injected for 12 successive days after the establishment of emphysema. The effects of treatment were evaluated using physiological and morphometric analyses.In contrast to the rat, administration of all-trans-retinoic acid in these murine models did not improve the emphysema. Moreover, worsening of emphysema was observed in TNF-alpha transgenic mice treated with all-trans-retinoic acid. The level of keratinocyte chemoattractant (KC), a CXC chemokine, in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid was increased in TNF-alpha transgenic mice following retinoic acid treatment. These data raise the possibility that retinoic acid causes deterioration of emphysema by promoting inflammation in this model.In these models, retinoic acid did not show positive effects on emphysema. The effect of retinoic acid in the treatment of pulmonary emphysema remains controversial, and further studies are required to determine its physiological effects under a variety of experimental conditions.

Neutron scattering experiments have been performed to study the magnetic-field dependence of static antiferromagnetic correlations in electron-doped cuprate superconductor Pr 0.89 LaCe 0.11 CuO 4 . In the zero field this compound shows superconductivity at around 25 K, and exhibits a fairly weak magnetic order. Magnetic fields up to 5 T, however, considerably enhance the antiferromagnetic (AF) ordering with commensurate wave number. Above 5 T, this AF order degrades with increasing the field. The characteristics of this electron-doped compound are discussed compared with previous reports on the related systems. The enhancement of the AF order under magnetic fields is a common feature of cuprate high- T c superconductors.

Low-energy parts of the Ti-K XANES spectra for SrTiO3 and CaTiO3 consist of a main peak and pre-edge peaks B and C. We made a characterization of these peaks using the DV Xα cluster model combined with L 2 continuum wave functions. This approach with a [TiO6M8(TiO5)6M24] 20+ model cluster (M=Sr or Ca) was successful in reproducing the relative positions and intensities of the low-energy peaks. It was found that transitions of the titanium 1s electron to p-type atomic orbitals (AOs) of the same atom are responsible for all these peaks. In general, p-type atomic orbitals (AOs) of the central titanium atom are mixed with various AOs of nearby atoms in the model cluster. Thus, the origin of main and pre-edge peaks for typical perovskite-type titanates has been elucidated consistently within a single theoretical framework.

Background: Although Clara cell secretory protein (CC-10) has been ascribed an anti-inflammatory role in lung diseases, its precise role remains unclear. Objective: To further our understanding of the role of CC-10 in inflammatory lung diseases, CC-10 protein levels were measured. Methods: Sera or bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluids were collected from patients with different inflammatory lung diseases including bronchial asthma, chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD), sarcoidosis, idiopathic interstitial pneumonia (IIP), chronic eosinophilic pneumonia (CEP), pneumonia and lung cancer. Serum CC-10 concentrations were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using urinary protein-1 antibody. Then, the relationships between CC-10 concentrations and lung diseases were investigated. Immunohistochemistry was performed using lung biopsy samples. Results: Increased serum CC-10 levels were recognized in IIP patients, while CC-10 levels were decreased in bronchial asthma patients and CEP patients. Immunohistochemistry revealed an aberrant expression in areas of fibrosis in IIP patients. Serum CC-10 concentrations were not associated with severity among IIP, COPD, and sarcoidosis. In contrast, serum CC-10 concentrations were correlated with FEV1/FVC in bronchial asthma patients. Conclusions: Although the number of patients was quite limited, these data provide new insights into the role of CC-10 in lung diseases, and the possibility that the CC-10 concentration in serum could be a new marker indicating the severity of bronchial asthma.

To the Editor: Idiopathic pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis is a peculiar pulmonary fibrosis proposed by Frankel et al . [1] in 2003 and is almost the same concept as idiopathic pulmonary upper lobe fibrosis proposed by Amitani et al. [2]. There are no known causes for fibrosis in idiopathic pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis. Sometimes, pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis (PPFE) has underlying diseases or conditions, such as collagen vascular diseases, anti-cancer chemotherapy, irradiation, asbestos exposure and bone-marrow transplantation [3]. Herein, we report the case of a female who received living-donor lung transplantation and died of pulmonary fibrosis, which was pathologically compatible with PPFE in addition to constrictive bronchiolitis, which is a manifestation of chronic lung allograft dysfunction (CLAD) [4]. A 30-yr-old female suffering from idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension underwent living-donor lung transplantation surgery and received a right lower lobe from her younger sister and a left lower lobe from her mother in December 2003. 20 months after the lung transplantation she had dyspnoea and a chest radiograph disclosed bilateral ground-glass shadows. 1 month later, right open lung biopsy was performed and a diagnosis of interstitial pneumonia was obtained. Pulse therapy with methylprednisolone slightly improved her condition and prednisolone was administered after the pulse therapy. However, bilateral interstitial opacities gradually deteriorated (fig. 1) with increased dyspnoea. 49 months after the lung transplantation, her daily life had worsened to almost whole-day bed rest. 18 days prior to her death she …

The magnetic ground state of an electron-doped cuprate superconductor Pr$_{1-x}$LaCe$_x$CuO$_{4+\alpha-\delta}$ ($x=0.11, \alpha\simeq0.04$) has been studied by means of muon spin rotation/relaxation (\msr) over a wide variety of oxygen depletion, $0.03\le\delta\le0.12$. Appearance of weak random magnetism over entire crystal volume has been revealed by a slow exponential relaxation. The absence of $\delta$-dependence for the random magnetism and the multiplet pattern of muon Knight shift at higher fields strongly suggest that the random moments are associated with excited Pr$^{3+}$ ions under crystal electric field., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, submitted to J. Phys. Soc. Jpn

Systematic measurements of magnetic susceptibility and neutron diffraction were performed on both as-grown and oxygen-reduced single crystals of Pr1−xLaCexCuO4−δ (x=0.09, 0.11, 0.15 and 0.18) in order to study the electronic phase diagram as functions of both x and δ. Antiferromagnetic ordered phase appears in the x=0.09 and 0.11 samples for small value of δ at low temperature and degrades by either increasing Ce concentration or δ. Bulk superconductivity was observed in the wider x and δ region compared to that of Nd2−xCexCuO4. A spin-glass-like phase appears in the limited region of δ in between 0.003 and 0.04, which weakly depends on x. Combining both results from susceptibility and neutron scattering measurement, we have obtained x–δ phase diagram of Pr1−xLaCexCuO4−δ.

Detailed superconducting (SC) phase diagram of electron-doped cuprates Nd 2− x Ce x CuO 4 has been studied by magnetic susceptibility measurements on single crystals with Ce concentration x up to 0.17. On increasing x , fractional superconductivity appears at around x =0.075. On further doping, bulk superconductivity sets in at around x =0.135, where the volume fraction of antiferromagnetic phase drastically degrades. SC samples with different onset T c ∼20 and 25 K were prepared by heat treatment in both fractional and bulk SC phases at a fixed x , and there exists no region where the onset T c depends on doping in the studied x -region. The boundary between fractional and bulk SC phases slightly shifts depending on the conditions of heat treatment.

We have performed neutron-scattering measurements on the single crystals of electron-doped cuprate, Pr 0.89 -LaCe 0.11 CuO 4-δ in order to study the relationship between spin correlations and the superconductivity. In the non-superconducting as-grown x = 0.11 sample, clear magnetic Bragg peak appears below 200 K, while no evidence of antiferromagnetic order was found in the oxygen-reduced superconducting one (T c = 25.5 K). These results imply that superconductivity concomitantly appears with the degradation of a magnetic ordering by oxygen-reduced procedure. Furthermore, we observed clear commensurate low-energy spin fluctuations, at the antiferromagnetic zone center in both as-grown and reduced samples, analogous to the result for Nd 1.85 Ce 0.15 CuO 4 . Therefore, commensurate spin fluctuations are robust against the electron-doping and is commonly exist in the electron-doped superconductors.

We report a case of pulmonary tuberculosis, which was preceded by skin tuberculosis. 65-year old male was admitted to our hospital complaining of skin eruption which last one year. Skin biopsy proved granuloma with acid-fast bacilli. Mycobacterium tuberculosis was detected by PCR examination using skin biopsy and skin tuberculosis was confirmed. Chest roentogenography demonstrated small nodules with bilateral infiltrates compatible with pulmonary tuberculosis. M. tuberculosis was attained by culture examination using sputa sample. In this case, skin tuberculosis was a first clinical sign to suggest pulmonary tuberculosis. Peripheral blood test showed that he has developed adult T-cell leukemia and this could be an important factor for developing skin tuberculosis. Although skin tuberculosis becomes rare disease, physician should pay attention for this disease as differential diagnosis of lasting eruption.

A project of river channel restoration has been promoted in the Shibetsu River, that attempts to restore the natural meander channel remained as a oxbow lake by letting the river water run through. In this project, it is intended that water streams into both the restored meandering channel and the straightened current river course by a small dam constructed downstream of the bifurcation point. But there are few papers treating the relationship between bifurcated flow ratio and the height of a dam in such complex channel system. This study is devoted to investigate the regulation function of a dam for bifurcated flow rate into an oxbow channel. Theoretical solutions for the flow rate are derived from the momentum balance of the several controlvolume sections of the bifurcated area. The results are compared with observed data in model tests and in field survey at a study section of the Shibetsu River to show good agreement.

Head bobbing patterns of walking Black-winged Stilts Himantopus himantopus and eight species of herons were studied. Though several of the species studied had been previously reported as non-bobbing birds, all nine species usually head bobbed while walking during our observations. The head-bobbing pattern most frequently observed was ‘one bob per step’ in which a bird bobs its head once for each step it takes. In several species, one of two other patterns was also observed. The ‘one bob per two steps’ pattern was observed in three species of herons when they were walking slowly, and the ‘two bobs per step’ pattern was observed in Black-winged Stilts. Non-bobbing walking was observed in Japanese Night Herons Gorsachius goisagi walking at relatively fast speed during foraging, and in two other species of herons when they were not foraging. Head bobbing may be affected by walking speed and by whether birds are foraging or not.

Although previous studies have indicated that head bobbing of birds is an optokinetic movement, head bobbing can also be controlled by some biomechanical constraints when it occurs during walking. In the present study, the head bobbing, center of gravity, and body movements of little egrets (Egretta garzetta) during walking were examined by determination of the position of the center of gravity using carcasses and by motion analysis of video films of wild egrets during walking. The results showed that the hold phase occurs while the center of gravity is over the supporting foot during the single support phase. In addition, the peak speed of neck extension was coincident with the peak speed of the center of gravity. These movements are similar to those of pigeons, and suggest the presence of biomechanical constraints on the pattern of head bobbing and body movements during walking.

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) transgenic mice have previously been found to have characteristics consistent with emphysema and severe pulmonary hypertension. Lungs demonstrated alveolar enlargement as well as interstitial thickening due to chronic inflammation and perivascular fibrosis. In the present report, we sought to determine potential mechanisms leading to development of pulmonary hypertension in TNF-alpha transgenic mice. To determine whether sustained vasoconstriction was an important component of this pulmonary hypertension, nitric oxide was administered and hemodynamics were measured. Nitric oxide (25 ppm) failed to normalize right ventricular pressure in transgene-positive mice, suggesting that the pulmonary hypertension was not due to sustained vasoconstriction. Structural analysis of the pulmonary arteries found adventitial thickening and a trend toward medial hypertrophy in pulmonary arteries of transgene-positive mice, suggesting that vascular remodeling had occurred. Echocardiographic measurement of the percent fractional shortening of the left ventricle as a measurement of ventricular function in vivo revealed that left ventricular dysfunction was not contributing to pulmonary hypertension. We examined expression of genes known to be important in regulation of vascular tone and structure. Messenger RNA expression of vascular endothelial growth factor and its receptor flk-1 was reduced compared with transgene-negative littermates at all ages. Endothelial and inducible nitric oxide synthase mRNA levels were similar in both groups. Endothelin-1 mRNA was also decreased in TNF-alpha transgenic mice. Interestingly, female transgenic mice had decreased survival rate compared with male transgenic mice. We conclude that chronic overexpression of TNF-alpha is associated with decreased vascular endothelial growth factor and flk-1 gene expression, pulmonary vascular remodeling, and severe pulmonary hypertension, although the precise mechanism is unknown.

Magnetic phase diagrams of electron-doped high-temperature superconducting (SC) cuprates Nd 2− x Ce x CuO 4− δ (NCCO) and Pr 1− x LaCe x CuO 4− δ (PLCCO) has been studied by means of muon spin relaxation and rotation (μSR) measurements. Two characteristic temperatures T N1 and T N2 are defined in the zero-field μSR (ZF-μSR) measurements for both NCCO and PLCCO. Below T = T N1 , which approximately corresponds to the previously reported Neel temperature, an exponential type muon spin relaxation firstly appears in the time spectra and upon cooling below around T N2 another faster component of relaxation or muon spin rotation is observed similarly. Although critical concentration for the bulk superconductivity is different between the two systems, antiferromagnetic (AF) phase contacts with the SC phase partially overlapping in both systems and AF phase is suddenly reduced in the appearance of SC phase, suggesting a competition between superconductivity and AF order. Our quantitative analyses of the AF volume fraction clearly demonstrate this.

We performed neutron scattering and μSR measurements on La 1.875 Ba 0.125− x Sr x CuO 4 in order to investigate the structural effect on the stability of magnetic order. Onset temperature of magnetic order seen by μSR measurement is lower than that by neutron scattering and shows an anomalous reduction at the structural phase boundary from low-temperature less-orthorhombic structure with Pccn symmetry to low-temperature orthorhombic phase upon increasing x . On the other hand, ordering temperature as a function of x obtained by neutron scattering changes continuously irrespective of the crystal structure. These results suggest difference of dynamical nature of Cu spins between these crystal structures.

An electrochemical technique was applied to reduce the insulating as-grown Nd 1.85 Ce 0.15 CuO 4+ δ samples. We succeeded in preparing the superconducting sample with T c ∼15 K for the first time. We identified several reactions in the electrochemical reduction processes using cyclic voltammetry measurements. The superconducting properties of samples treated under different electrochemical conditions are reported.

Superconducting properties were measured for polycrystalline nearly single-phase samples of Pr1−xCexLaCuO4+δ (PLCCO) (0⩽x⩽0.2). Thermoelectric power (S) was found to be negative for all the samples in the temperature range between 50 and 310 K. This evidence clearly indicates that the dominant charge carriers of Pr1−xCexLaCuO4+δ are electrons.