Measurement of nuclear reaction cross sections by using Cherenkov radiation toward high-precision proton therapy.

Monitoring the in vivo dose distribution in proton therapy is desirable for the accurate irradiation of a tumor. Although positron emission tomography (PET) is widely used for confirmation, the obtained distribution of positron emitters produced by the protons does not trace the dose distribution due to the different physical processes. To estimate the accurate dose from the PET image, the cross sections of nuclear reactions that produce positron emitters are important yet far from being sufficient.

CCR2 knockout exacerbates cerulein-induced chronic pancreatitis with hyperglycemia via decreased GLP-1 receptor expression and insulin secretion.

Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) promotes insulin release; however, the relationship between the GLP-1 signal and chronic pancreatitis is not well understood. Here we focus on chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 2 (CCL2) and its receptor (CCR2) axis, which regulates various immune cells, including macrophages, to clarify the mechanism of GLP-1-mediated insulin secretion in chronic pancreatitis in mice. One and multiple series of repetitive cerulein administrations were used to induce acute and chronic cerulein pancreatitis, respectively.

Marked improvement of fertility of cryopreserved C57BL/6J mouse sperm by depletion of Ca2+ in medium.

Cryopreservation of mouse sperm is useful for maintaining various strains. However, fertility generally decreases after freezing. In particular, the fertility of cryopreserved C57BL/6J sperm is very low.