Reversal of the Parallel Drift Frequency in Anomalous Transport of Impurity Ions.

It is found that, in the studies of heavy ion transport with gyrokinetic simulations, the ion parallel drift frequency can reverse sign in velocity space when the amplitude variation of the electrostatic potential fluctuation is strong along the magnetic field line. As a result, the particle transport related to the parallel dynamics is strongly enhanced. It is noted that, while parallel gradient of the fluctuation amplitude can be instigated by a large magnetic shear or safety factor in a tokamak, the generic mechanism is independent of its cause, which suggests broader applications to kinetic plasma problems.

Multi-scale turbulence simulation suggesting improvement of electron heated plasma confinement.

Turbulent transport is a key physics process for confining magnetic fusion plasma. Recent theoretical and experimental studies of existing fusion experimental devices revealed the existence of cross-scale interactions between small (electron)-scale and large (ion)-scale turbulence. Since conventional turbulent transport modelling lacks cross-scale interactions, it should be clarified whether cross-scale interactions are needed to be considered in future experiments on burning plasma, whose high electron temperature is sustained with fusion-born alpha particle heating.

Taurine suppresses liquid-liquid phase separation of lysozyme protein.

Taurine is a compatible osmolyte that confers stability to proteins. Recent studies have revealed that liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) of proteins underlie the formation of membraneless organelles in cells. In the present study, we evaluated the role of taurine on LLPS of hen egg lysozyme.

In Vivo and In Vitro Study of -Methyltaurine on Pharmacokinetics and Antimuscle Atrophic Effects in Mice.

Various types of seaweed are potential functional foods as they contain multiple bioactive compounds. -Methyltaurine (NMT) is a taurine derivative metabolite found in a type of red algae. The functional actions of NMT in mammalian animals have not been investigated, but the parent compound, taurine, possesses a variety of cellular actions.

Persistence of Ion Temperature Gradient Turbulent Transport at Finite Normalized Pressure.

Plasma β dependence of electromagnetic turbulent transport is investigated by means of gyrokinetic simulations with self-consistent change of the equilibrium magnetic field. It is found that energy transport due to ion-temperature-gradient (ITG) driven turbulence does not decrease with increasing β; that is, the ion energy diffusivity does not decrease, and the electron energy diffusivity increases with β. This is because magnetic fluctuations are significantly influenced by the background magnetic field structure change with β by the Pfirsch-Schluter current.

Suppression of Ion-Scale Microtearing Modes by Electron-Scale Turbulence via Cross-Scale Nonlinear Interactions in Tokamak Plasmas.

Gyrokinetic turbulence simulations are applied for the first time to the cross-scale interactions of microtearing modes (MTMs) and electron-temperature-gradient (ETG) modes. The investigation of the fluctuation response in a multiscale simulation including both types of instabilities indicates that MTMs are suppressed by ETG turbulence. A detailed analysis of nonlinear mode coupling reveals that radially localized current-sheet structures of MTMs are strongly distorted by fine-scale E×B flows of ETG turbulence.

Cross-Scale Interactions between Electron and Ion Scale Turbulence in a Tokamak Plasma.

Multiscale gyrokinetic turbulence simulations with the real ion-to-electron mass ratio and β value are realized for the first time, where the β value is given by the ratio of plasma pressure to magnetic pressure and characterizes electromagnetic effects on microinstabilities. Numerical analysis at both the electron scale and the ion scale is used to reveal the mechanism of their cross-scale interactions. Even with the real-mass scale separation, ion-scale turbulence eliminates electron-scale streamers and dominates heat transport, not only of ions but also of electrons.

Competitive aggregation dynamics using phase wave signals.

Coupled equations of the phase equation and the equation of cell concentration n are proposed for competitive aggregation dynamics of slime mold in two dimensions. Phase waves are used as tactic signals of aggregation in this model. Several aggregation clusters are formed initially, and target patterns appear around the localized aggregation clusters.

Evaluation of hepatic tissue blood flow using xenon computed tomography with fibrosis progression in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: comparison with chronic hepatitis C.

Aims: The present study evaluated the utility of xenon computed tomography (Xe-CT) as a noninvasive diagnostic procedure for the measurement of hepatic tissue blood flow (TBF) in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) or chronic hepatitis C (CH-C).

Methods: Xe-CT was performed in 93 patients with NAFLD and in 109 patients with CH-C. Subjects were classified into one of three groups, based on fibrosis stage: group 1, no bridging fibrosis; group 2, bridging fibrosis; and group 3, liver cirrhosis.

Cirrhosis improvement to alcoholic liver fibrosis after passive abstinence.

We present a rare case of long-term alcoholic liver disease that progressed from alcoholic liver fibrosis to alcoholic liver cirrhosis, and following passive abstinence, the patient's condition then improved to alcoholic liver fibrosis. A 70-year-old Japanese man who had consumed large amounts of alcohol since he was 20 years old received a liver biopsy for evaluation of liver dysfunction at the age of 48 in 1991. The biopsy indicated alcoholic liver fibrosis, stage 2.

Dynamical quorum sensing and clustering dynamics in a population of spatially distributed active rotators.

A model of clustering dynamics is proposed for a population of spatially distributed active rotators. A transition from excitable to oscillatory dynamics is induced by the increase of the local density of active rotators. It is interpreted as dynamical quorum sensing.

Hyperresponsivity to low-dose endotoxin during progression to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis is regulated by leptin-mediated signaling.

Although bacterial endotoxin, such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS), plays a key role in the pathogenesis of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), detailed mechanisms of this pathogenesis remain unclear. Here, we demonstrate that upregulation of CD14 by leptin-mediated signaling is critical to hyperreactivity against endotoxin during NASH progression. Upregulation of CD14 in Kupffer cells and hyperreactivity against low-dose LPS were observed in high-fat diet (HFD)-induced steatosis mice, but not chow-fed-control mice.

Pathophysiological analysis of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease by evaluation of fatty liver changes and blood flow using xenon computed tomography: can early-stage nonalcoholic steatohepatitis be distinguished from simple steatosis?

Introduction: Effective noninvasive tests that can distinguish early-stage nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) from simple steatosis (SS) have long been sought. Our aim was to determine the possibility of noninvasively distinguishing early-stage NASH from SS.

Materials And Methods: We used Fick's principle and the Kety-Schmidt equation to determine the hepatic tissue blood flow (TBF) in 65 NASH patients who underwent xenon computed tomography (Xe-CT).

Efficacy of ezetimibe for the treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis: An open-label, pilot study.

Aim: Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is considered a hepatic manifestation of metabolic syndrome. However, effective drug therapy for NASH has not been established yet. In the present study, we evaluated the efficacy of 6 months of ezetimibe treatment for NASH patients with dyslipidemia for the comparison of improvement of the clinical parameters and histological alterations.

Influence of inducible nitric oxide synthase polymorphisms in Japanese patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Aim: Genetic factors as well as environmental factors play an important role in the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Recently, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) was significantly higher in the severest form of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), and nitric oxide (NO) has been determined to play an important role in the process of fibrosis in NASH. In this study, we investigated iNOS gene polymorphisms for associations with NAFLD.

Association between angiotensin II type 1 receptor polymorphisms and the occurrence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Background: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most common causes of chronic liver injury in many countries. Genetic factors are important for the development of NAFLD, as well as environmental factors. Recently an angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AGTR1) has been recognized as important in the aetiology of fibrosis in the liver.

Serum ferritin is a clinical biomarker in Japanese patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) independent of HFE gene mutation.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common cause of chronic liver injury. The spectrum of NAFLD is broad, extending from simple steatosis through nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Iron is regarded as a putative element that interacts with oxygen radicals, and high rates of hyperferritinemia and increased hepatic iron stores have been demonstrated in NASH.

Plasma Pentraxin3 is a novel marker for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).

Background: The changes in the liver in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) range over a wide spectrum, extending from steatosis to steatohepatitis (NASH). However it has remained difficult to differentiate between NASH and non-progressive NAFLD on the basis of the clinical findings alone.

Aims: In this study we investigated the clinical usefulness of plasma Pentraxin3 (PTX3) levels to predict NASH.

Evaluation of quantitative portal venous, hepatic arterial, and total hepatic tissue blood flow using xenon CT in alcoholic liver cirrhosis-comparison with liver cirrhosis related to hepatitis C virus and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis.

Background/aims: Xenon computed tomography (Xe-CT) is a noninvasive method of quantifying and visualizing tissue blood flow (TBF). For the liver, Xe-CT allows separate measurement of hepatic arterial and portal venous TBF. The present study evaluated the usefulness of Xe-CT as a noninvasive diagnostic procedure for measuring hepatic TBF in alcoholic liver cirrhosis (AL-LC), compared with liver cirrhosis related to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), (NASH-LC), and hepatitis C virus (HCV), (C-LC).

Nitric oxide plays a crucial role in the development/progression of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis in the choline-deficient, l-amino acid-defined diet-fed rat model.

Background: The pathogenesis of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is still unclear. Recently, the 2-hit hypothesis was proposed, in which nitric oxide production, representing oxidative stress, was proposed as a very important candidate for the second hit.

Methods: The total study period was 10 weeks.

Assessment of hepatic steatosis and hepatic tissue blood flow by xenon computed tomography in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis.

Aim: The diagnosis of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) can be difficult using blood tests and imaging studies. Histological diagnosis by liver biopsy remains the gold standard of NASH diagnosis. There is an urgent need to develop and validate simple, reproducible, noninvasive tests to accurately assess NASH stage and grade.

Gene expression profiling of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis using gene set enrichment analysis.

Aim: Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a subset of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and sometimes progresses to cirrhosis and liver failure. In this study we analyzed the expression profile of genes and biological pathways involved in NASH in comparison with non-NASH by gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) employing a DNA microarray technique.

Methods: mRNA from liver biopsy specimens was collected from a group of NASH patients and a group of non-NASH patients.

Association between PPARGC1A polymorphisms and the occurrence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

Background: Genetic factors as well as environmental factors are important in the development of NAFLD and in this study we investigated associations between polymorphisms of peroxisome proliferators-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1alpha polymorphism (PPARGC1A) and NAFLD.

Aims: We recruited 115 patients with biopsy-proven NAFLD, 65 with NASH and 50 with simple steatosis, and 441 healthy control subjects and investigated 15 SNPs of PPARGC1A.

Results: SNP rs2290602 had the lowest p value in the dominant mode (p = 0.