Dialogue on Dialogic Pedagogy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Matusov, Eugene; Miyazaki, Kiyotaka

2014-01-01

In September 2011 in Rome at the International Society for Cultural and Activity Research conference, Eugene Matusov (USA), Kiyotaka Miyazaki (Japan), Jayne White (New Zealand), and Olga Dysthe (Norway) organized a symposium on Dialogic Pedagogy. Formally during the symposium and informally after the symposium several heated discussions started…

Habitats and Distribution of Anopheles Sinensis and Associated Anopheles Hyrcanus Group in Japan

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-01-01

based on observed and published specimens). (A) Hokkaido district. (B-F) Honshu. ( G ) Shikoku district. (H) Kyushu district. (l) Amami Gunlo. (J...Tsushima Is.: Kuwa 6 Tsushima Is.: Naiin 6 Yonaguni Is.: near Sonai 6 6 , 1 = Kurihara (\\999); 2 = Miyake (1950): 3 = Miyazaki (1951):" = Olsuru and Konoc

UV exposure of elementary school children in five Japanese cities.

PubMed

Ono, Masaji; Munakata, Nobuo; Watanabe, Shaw

2005-01-01

A 1 week UV-exposure measurement and outdoor-activity pattern survey was conducted for elementary school children for four seasons at five sites in Japan, i.e. Sapporo (43 degrees 05' N, altitude 40 m), Tsukuba (36 degrees 05' N, 20 m), Tokyo (35 degrees 40' N, 45 m), Miyazaki (31 degrees 60' N, 40 m) and Naha (26 degrees 10' N, 5 m), and UV exposure was measured directly and estimated using outdoor-activity records. The study site with largest UV exposure was Miyazaki, a southern rural area. Comparing the results for boys and girls, UV exposure was larger in boys. UV exposure was large in spring and summer and small in winter. The total amount of UV exposure in spring and summer contributed 57.7-73.4% of total exposure for the year. As a whole, 8.1% and 1.8% of the schoolchildren were exposed to more than 1 minimum erythemal dose (MED) and 2 MED of solar UV in a day, respectively. The estimated yearly UV exposure ranged from 49 207 J/m2 in Miyazaki to 31 520 J/m2 in Tsukuba. The actual UV exposure correlated to potential UV exposure, estimated using outdoor-activity records and ambient UV irradiance, but the ratio differed by season and site. The yearly average of percent UV exposure to ambient UV on a horizontal plane ranged from 9.9% in Tokyo to 4.0% in Naha. In the questionnaire survey on outdoor-activity pattern, a short question "How long did you spend time outdoors between 0900 and 1500 h?" gives the best estimates of UV exposure.

Proceedings of the Conference of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (PME) (24th, Hiroshima, Japan, July 23-27, 2000), Volume 4.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nakahara, Tadao, Ed.; Koyama, Masataka, Ed.

The fourth volume of the 24th annual conference of the International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education contains full research report papers. Papers include: (1) "What are essential to apply the 'discovery' function of proof in lower secondary school mathematics?" (Mikio Miyazaki); (2) "The anatomy of an 'open' mathematics lesson"…

Finding the Spirit Within: A Critical Analysis of Film Techniques in "Spirited Away"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cooper, Damon

2010-01-01

In 2008 the New South Wales Board of Studies included Hayao Miyazaki's film "Spirited Away" as the prescribed text for the Higher School Certificate Japanese Extension course. A study of the film in this context requires students to engage with the text in three distinct ways: through language, cultural symbolism and relevance, and…

Reassortant swine influenza viruses isolated in Japan contain genes from pandemic A(H1N1) 2009.

PubMed

Kanehira, Katsushi; Takemae, Nobuhiro; Uchida, Yuko; Hikono, Hirokazu; Saito, Takehiko

2014-06-01

In 2013, three reassortant swine influenza viruses (SIVs)-two H1N2 and one H3N2-were isolated from symptomatic pigs in Japan; each contained genes from the pandemic A(H1N1) 2009 virus and endemic SIVs. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the two H1N2 viruses, A/swine/Gunma/1/2013 and A/swine/Ibaraki/1/2013, were reassortants that contain genes from the following three distinct lineages: (i) H1 and nucleoprotein (NP) genes derived from a classical swine H1 HA lineage uniquely circulating among Japanese SIVs; (ii) neuraminidase (NA) genes from human-like H1N2 swine viruses; and (iii) other genes from pandemic A(H1N1) 2009 viruses. The H3N2 virus, A/swine/Miyazaki/2/2013, comprised genes from two sources: (i) hemagglutinin (HA) and NA genes derived from human and human-like H3N2 swine viruses and (ii) other genes from pandemic A(H1N1) 2009 viruses. Phylogenetic analysis also indicated that each of the reassortants may have arisen independently in Japanese pigs. A/swine/Miyazaki/2/2013 were found to have strong antigenic reactivities with antisera generated for some seasonal human-lineage viruses isolated during or before 2003, whereas A/swine/Miyazaki/2/2013 reactivities with antisera against viruses isolated after 2004 were clearly weaker. In addition, antisera against some strains of seasonal human-lineage H1 viruses did not react with either A/swine/Gunma/1/2013 or A/swine/Ibaraki/1/2013. These findings indicate that emergence and spread of these reassortant SIVs is a potential public health risk. © 2014 The Societies and Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

Surface Excrescence Transition Study Delivery Order 0053

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-04-01

located near the town of Hyuga). The facility was constructed on a former MAGLEV testing track owned by Railway Technical Research Institute of Japan 6...12pp) 6. Takahashi, K., ―The outline of MLU002N on Miyazaki test track,‖ Int. Conf. on Speedup Technology for Railway and MAGLEV Vehicles vol 1 pp

First isolation and characterization of pteropine orthoreoviruses in fruit bats in the Philippines.

PubMed

Taniguchi, Satoshi; Maeda, Ken; Horimoto, Taisuke; Masangkay, Joseph S; Puentespina, Roberto; Alvarez, James; Eres, Eduardo; Cosico, Edison; Nagata, Noriyo; Egawa, Kazutaka; Singh, Harpal; Fukuma, Aiko; Yoshikawa, Tomoki; Tani, Hideki; Fukushi, Shuetsu; Tsuchiaka, Shinobu; Omatsu, Tsutomu; Mizutani, Tetsuya; Une, Yumi; Yoshikawa, Yasuhiro; Shimojima, Masayuki; Saijo, Masayuki; Kyuwa, Shigeru

2017-06-01

Pteropine orthoreovirus (PRV) causes respiratory tract illness (RTI) in humans. PRVs were isolated from throat swabs collected from 9 of 91 wild bats captured on the Mindanao Islands, The Philippines, in 2013. The nucleic acid sequence of the whole genome of each of these isolates was determined. Phylogenetic analysis based on predicted amino acid sequences indicated that the isolated PRVs were novel strains in which re-assortment events had occurred in the viral genome. Serum specimens collected from 76 of 84 bats were positive for PRV-neutralizing antibodies suggesting a high prevalence of PRV in wild bats in the Philippines. The bat-borne PRVs isolated in the Philippines were characterized in comparison to an Indonesian PRV isolate, Miyazaki-Bali/2007 strain, recovered from a human patient, revealing that the Philippine bat-borne PRVs had similar characteristics in terms of antigenicity to those of the Miyazaki-Bali/2007 strain, but with a slight difference (e.g., growth capacity in vitro). The impact of the Philippine bat-borne PRVs should be studied in human RTI cases in the Philippines.

Operational problems of Haniwa net as a form of social capital: interdependence between human networks of physicians and information networks.

PubMed

Maeda, Minoru; Araki, Sanae; Suzuki, Muneou; Umemoto, Katsuhiro; Kai, Yukiko; Araki, Kenji

2012-10-01

In August 2009, Miyazaki Health and Welfare Network (Haniwa Net, hereafter referred to as "the Net"), centrally led by University of Miyazaki Hospital (UMH), adopted a center hospital-based system offering a unilateral linkage that enables the viewing of UMH's medical records through a web-based browser (electronic medical records (EMR)). By the end of December 2010, the network had developed into a system of 79 collaborating physicians from within the prefecture. Beginning in August 2010, physicians in 12 medical institutions were visited and asked to speak freely on the operational issues concerning the Net. Recordings and written accounts were coded using the text analysis software MAXQDA 10 to understand the actual state of operations. Analysis of calculations of Kendall's rank correlation confirmed that the interdependency between human networks and information networks is significant. At the same time, while the negative opinions concerning the functions of the Net were somewhat conspicuous, the results showed a correlation between requests and proposals for operational improvements of the Net, clearly indicating the need for a more user-friendly system and a better viewer.

With a Little Help from Japan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Purcell, John

2009-01-01

Over the last year, the author's students have become very interested in popular culture from Korea and Japan. In particular, the class liked the films of Hayao Miyazaki, an Oscar-winning director who is considered one of the foremost anime filmmakers. In this article, the author came to an idea while he and the first-grade class were discussing…

Morphological evaluation of changes in velopharyngeal function following maxillary distraction in patients with repaired cleft palate during mixed dentition.

PubMed

Satoh, Koichi; Nagata, Junko; Shomura, Kenji; Wada, Takeshi; Tachimura, Takashi; Fukuda, Jinichi; Shiba, Ryosuke

2004-07-01

To describe the morphological changes of nasopharyngeal components after maxillary distraction and clarify whether the morphological characteristics are related to velopharyngeal function (VPF). Perceptual judgments of hypernasality and nasendoscopy were performed before and after treatment. Lateral cephalograms were obtained to describe the morphological changes. Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Miyazaki Medical College, Miyazaki, Japan. Nine patients with repaired cleft palate in the mixed dentition stage underwent maxillary distraction using a face mask and an intraoral fixed appliance system. The severity of hypernasality, velopharyngeal insufficiency, and measurements such as pharyngeal depth, velar length, and the rotation of the palatal plane were evaluated. Increase in pharyngeal depth was not always proportional to the amount of advancement. It depended on the posture of the posterior pharyngeal wall and the rotation of palatal plane. Cephalometric measurements of the nasopharynx before and after surgery confirmed subsequent changes in VPF. These were suggested to be useful in predicting future VPF. When performing maxillary distraction in patients with cleft palate in the mixed dentition stage, and when velopharyngeal closure is found to occur by velar contact against the hypertrophied adenoid, patients should be counseled about risks of subsequent deterioration in their speech before surgery.

Cellular Therapy to Obtain Rapid Endochondral Bone Formation

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-02-01

Tashiro F, Miyazaki J, Nishida K, Hiraki Y, Tano Y, Shukunami C 2004 Anti-angiogenic action of the C-terminal domain of tenomodulin that shares... Hiraki Y, Yamamoto T, Duong le T, Endo N 2003 Expression of the cartilage derived anti-angiogenic factor chondromodulin-I decreases in the early...H, Hiraki Y 1999 Spatiotemporal pattern of the mouse chondromodulin-I gene expression and its regulatory role in vascular invasion into cartilage

Systemic and Local Vaccination against Breast Cancer with Minimum Autoimmune Sequelae

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-12-01

2012;61:899-904. 29. Matsushima H, Ogawa Y, Miyazaki T, Tanaka H, Nishibu A, Takashima A. Intravital imaging of IL-1beta production in skin. The Journal...their activities to enhance treatment outcome. In parallel with this progress is the advancement in image guided percutaneous cryoablation that...caudual and rostral mammary tissue relative to tumor (10 μL/injection site). Imaging and histology of cryoablated tumors: Tumors were removed from WT or

FORMATION OF INTRACYTOPLASMIC MEMBRANE SYSTEM OF MYCOBACTERIA RELATED TO CELL DIVISION

PubMed Central

Imaeda, Tamotsu; Ogura, Mituo

1963-01-01

Imaeda, Tamotsu (Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas, Caracas, Venezuela) and Mitua Ogura. Formation of intracytoplasmic membrane system of mycobacteria related to cell division. J. Bacteriol. 85:150–163. 1963.—Mycobacterium leprae, M. lepraemurium, and a Mycobacterium sp. were observed with an electron microscope. In these bacilli, the three-dimensional structure of the intracytoplasmic membrane system consists of tubular infoldings of the invaginated plasma membrane. The moderately dense substance, presumably representing the cell-wall precursor, is found in the membranous system, especially in the rapid growth phase of mycobacteria. This system always shows an intimate relationship with cell division. A low-density zone, probably corresponding to the low-density substance which coats the cell wall, appears in the connecting regions of the system and in the longitudinal portion of the cell wall. These zones extend centripetally, and the separation of the cell wall occurs after the two zones meet. Based on these results, we hypothesize that the intracytoplasmic membrane system may produce cell-wall material during cell division of mycobacteria. Images PMID:13956365

N-Cadherin in Prostate Cancer: Downstream Pathways and their Translational Application for Castrate-Resistant Prostate Cancer

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-09-01

2008). 22. Mason , M.J., Fan, G ., Plath, K., Zhou, Q. & Horvath , S. Signed weighted gene co-expression network analysis of transcriptional regulation... G , Gimond C. The dual-specificity MAP kinase phosphatases: critical roles in development and cancer. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol.299:C189-202. 9...Tanaka H. KE, Tran C. P., Miyazaki H., Yamashiro J., Shimomura T., Lada F., Wada R., Juang J., Vessella R. L., An J., Horvath S., Gleave M., Rettig M

Cell Therapy To Obtain Spinal Fusion

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-07-01

23(5):267-76. 32. Oshima Y, Sato K, Tashiro F, Miyazaki J, Nishida K, Hiraki Y, Tano Y, Shukunami C 2004 Anti-angiogenic action of the C-terminal...H, Tokunaga K, Hatano H, Kondo J, Hiraki Y, Yamamoto T, Duong le T, Endo N 2003 Expression of the cartilage derived anti-angiogenic factor...57. 35. Shukunami C, Iyama K, Inoue H, Hiraki Y 1999 Spatiotemporal pattern of the mouse chondromodulin-I gene expression and its regulatory role in

DAMAGE AND CORRESPOBDENCE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENTS AND BUSINESS ESTABLISHMENTS FOR Mt. SHINMOE 2011 ERUPTIONS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Uno, Kohji; Nakano, Susumu; Kasubuchi, Yoshio

On Jan. 27, 2011, Mt. Shinmoe in the Kirishima mountain range on the border between Kagoshima and Miyazaki Prefectures began erupting for the first time in 52 years. In this study, to clarify the damage and correspondence of local governments and business establishments for a series of volcanic hazards of Mt. Shinmoe in 2011, we conducted interview research and document investigation. For endless volcanic hazard, not only the serious and sustained effots of disaster-affected area, but also the broad-based supoorts from neighboring local governments and business establishments are required.

Change in the coil distribution of electrodynamic suspension system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tanaka, Hisashi

1992-01-01

At the Miyazaki Maglev Test Center, the initial test runs were completed using a system design that required the superconducting coils to be parallel with the ground levitation coils. Recently, the coil distribution was changed to a system such that the two types of coils were perpendicular to each other. Further system changes will lead to the construction of a side wall levitation system. It is hoped that the development will culminate in a system whereby a superconducting coil will maintain all the functions: levitation, propulsion, and guidance.

Hybridization between Media Education and Visual Arts Education. Miyazaki's Cinema as a Revulsive

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huerta, Ricard

2011-01-01

In this article we suggest an approximation between media education and visual arts education. Teachers of Primary School interpret the media as a visual artefacts. But these visual artifacts can be analyzed from the education in visual arts. We can offer a suitable formation in the moment on training teachers (Clarembeaux, 2010; Huerta, 2005),…

Sensitive radioimmunoassay of total thyroxine (T4) in horses using a simple extraction method.

PubMed

Tangyuenyong, Siriwan; Nambo, Yasuo; Nagaoka, Kentaro; Tanaka, Tomomi; Watanabe, Gen

2017-07-28

Most thyroid hormone determinations in animals are based on immunoassays adapted from those used to test human samples, which may not reflect the actual values of thyroid hormone in horses because of the presence of binding proteins. The aims of the present study were i) to establish a novel radioimmunoassay (RIA) using a more simple and convenient method to separate binding proteins for the measurement of total thyroxine (T4) in horses and ii) to validate the assay by comparing total T4 concentrations in yearling horses raised in different climates. Blood samples were collected from trained yearlings in Hokkaido (temperate climate) and Miyazaki (subtropical climate) in Japan and from adult horses in estrus and diestrus. T4 was extracted from both serum and plasma using modified acid ethanol cryo-precipitation and sodium acetate ethanol methods. Circulating total T4 concentrations were determined by RIA. T4 concentration by sodium acetate ethanol was appropriately detectable rather than sodium salicylate method and was the same as for acid ethanol method. Furthermore, this sodium acetate ethanol method required fewer extraction steps than the other methods. Circulating T4 concentrations in yearlings were 225.98 ± 20.89 ng/ml, which was higher than the previous reference values. With respect to climate, T4 levels in Hokkaido yearlings tended to be higher than those in Miyazaki yearlings throughout the study period. These results indicated that this RIA protocol using a modified sodium acetate ethanol separation technique might be an appropriate tool for specific measurement of total T4 in horses.

Ruptures of vulnerability: Linda Stein's Knight Series.

PubMed

Bible, Ann Vollmann

2010-01-01

Drawing on the work of Monique Wittig, this article understands Linda Stein's Knight Series as a lacunary writing communicating both her challenges to come to representation and her creative registration of subjectivity. The argument is grounded in an exploration of the rich interplay of power and vulnerability across the series as against the discourse of escapist fashion. Specifically, Stein's critical contradictions of inside and outside, conflated temporality, disjunctions between decoration and abstraction, and fluidity of sex and gender are examined. The discussion is elaborated through consideration of the work of Julia Kristeva, Elizabeth Grosz, and Hayao Miyazaki.

Concerto catalysis--harmonising [NiFe]hydrogenase and NiRu model catalysts.

PubMed

Ichikawa, Koji; Nonaka, Kyoshiro; Matsumoto, Takahiro; Kure, Bunsho; Yoon, Ki-Seok; Higuchi, Yoshiki; Yagi, Tatsuhiko; Ogo, Seiji

2010-03-28

This communication reports the successful merging of the chemical properties of a natural [NiFe]hydrogenase (Desulfovibrio vulgaris Miyazaki F) and our previously reported [NiRu] hydrogenase-mimic. The catalytic activity of both the natural enzyme and the mimic is almost identical, with the exception of working pH ranges, and this allows us to use them simultaneously in the same reaction flask. In such a manner, isotope exchange between D(2) and H(2)O could be conducted over an extended pH range (about 2-10) in one pot under mild conditions at ambient temperature and pressure.

Structure of "Ventilation and Warming" in Notes on Nursing Written by Florence Nightingale in 19th Century: Introduction of Basic Physics to Nursing Students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ogoh, Kazutoshi

"Basic Natural Science" for freshmen at Miyazaki Prefectural Nursing University has a component including physics. Here students learn three principles of thermal transfer; conduction, radiation, and convection through a series of experiments. The purpose of these experiments is to understand the structure of a method for the caring of breathing and temperature of patients as written in "Ventilation and Warming", the first chapter of F. Nightingale's Notes on Nursing. Students can then apply this structure to retain fresh air in today's hospital rooms, and can then appreciate studying real physics incorporated into fundamental knowledge for nursing practice.

Rotational Spectroscopy Unveils Eleven Conformers of Adrenaline

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cabezas, C.; Cortijo, V.; Mata, S.; Lopez, J. C.; Alonso, J. L.

2013-06-01

Recent improvements in our LA-MB-FTMW instrumentation have allowed the characterization of eleven and eight conformers for the neurotransmitters adrenaline and noradrenaline respectively. The observation of this rich conformational behavior is in accordance with the recent observation of seven conformers for dopamine and in sharp contrast with the conformational reduction proposed for catecholamines. C. Cabezas, I. Peña, J. C. López, J. L. Alonso J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2013, 4, 486. H. Mitsuda, M. Miyazaki, I. B. Nielsen, P. Carcabal,C. Dedonder, C. Jouvet, S. Ishiuchi, M. Fujii J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2010, 1, 1130.

RPG: the Ribosomal Protein Gene database.

PubMed

Nakao, Akihiro; Yoshihama, Maki; Kenmochi, Naoya

2004-01-01

RPG (http://ribosome.miyazaki-med.ac.jp/) is a new database that provides detailed information about ribosomal protein (RP) genes. It contains data from humans and other organisms, including Drosophila melanogaster, Caenorhabditis elegans, Saccharo myces cerevisiae, Methanococcus jannaschii and Escherichia coli. Users can search the database by gene name and organism. Each record includes sequences (genomic, cDNA and amino acid sequences), intron/exon structures, genomic locations and information about orthologs. In addition, users can view and compare the gene structures of the above organisms and make multiple amino acid sequence alignments. RPG also provides information on small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) that are encoded in the introns of RP genes.

3D Ultrashort TE MRI for Evaluation of Cartilaginous Endplate of Cervical Disk In Vivo: Feasibility and Correlation With Disk Degeneration in T2-Weighted Spin-Echo Sequence.

PubMed

Kim, Yeo Ju; Cha, Jang Gyu; Shin, Yoon Sang; Chaudhari, Akshay S; Suh, Young Ju; Hwan Yoon, Seung; Gold, Garry E

2018-05-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of 3D ultrashort TE (UTE) MRI in depicting the cartilaginous endplate (CEP) and its abnormalities and to investigate the association between CEP abnormalities and disk degeneration on T2-weighted spin-echo (SE) MR images in cervical disks in vivo. Eight healthy volunteers and 70 patients were examined using 3-T MRI with the 3D UTE cones trajectory technique (TR/TE, 16.1/0.032, 6.6). In the volunteer study, quantitative and qualitative assessments of CEP depiction were conducted for the 3D UTE and T2-weighted SE imaging. In the patient study, CEP abnormalities were analyzed. Intersequence agreement between the images obtained with the first-echo 3D UTE sequence and the images created by subtracting the second-echo from the first-echo 3D UTE sequence (subtracted 3D UTE) and the intraobserver and interobserver agreements for 3D UTE overall were also tested. The CEP abnormalities on the 3D UTE images correlated with the Miyazaki grading of the T2-weighted SE images. In the volunteer study, the CEP was well visualized on 3D UTE images but not on T2-weighted SE images (p < 0.001). In the patient study, for evaluation of CEP abnormalities, intersequence agreements were substantial to almost perfect, intraobserver agreements were substantial to almost perfect, and interobserver agreements were moderate to substantial (p < 0.001). All of the CEP abnormalities correlated with the Miyazaki grade with statistical significance (p < 0.001). Three-dimensional UTE MRI feasibly depicts the CEP and CEP abnormalities, which may be associated with the severity of disk degeneration on T2-weighted SE MRI.

RPG: the Ribosomal Protein Gene database

PubMed Central

Nakao, Akihiro; Yoshihama, Maki; Kenmochi, Naoya

2004-01-01

RPG (http://ribosome.miyazaki-med.ac.jp/) is a new database that provides detailed information about ribosomal protein (RP) genes. It contains data from humans and other organisms, including Drosophila melanogaster, Caenorhabditis elegans, Saccharo myces cerevisiae, Methanococcus jannaschii and Escherichia coli. Users can search the database by gene name and organism. Each record includes sequences (genomic, cDNA and amino acid sequences), intron/exon structures, genomic locations and information about orthologs. In addition, users can view and compare the gene structures of the above organisms and make multiple amino acid sequence alignments. RPG also provides information on small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) that are encoded in the introns of RP genes. PMID:14681386

VizieR Online Data Catalog: Colour and spectral index from the SLUGGS survey (Usher+, 2015)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Usher, C.; Forbes, D. A.; Brodie, J. P.; Romanowsky, A. J.; Strader, J.; Conroy, C.; Foster, C.; Pastorello, N.; Pota, V.; Arnold, J. A.

2017-10-01

The SLUGGS survey is an ongoing study of 25 massive, nearby, early-type galaxies and their GC systems using Keck DEIMOS spectroscopy and wide-field imaging from Suprime-Cam (Miyazaki et al. 2002, PASJ, 54, 833) on the Subaru telescope. The spectra were all observed with DEIMOS in multislit mode between 2006 and 2013 with the primary aim of measuring GC radial velocities. Exposure times averaged two hours per slit mask. All observations used a central wavelength of 7800 Å, the 1200 line/mm grating and 1 arcsec slits. This setup yields a resolution of Δλ~1.5 Å and covers the Na I doublet to CaT wavelength region. In roughly half of the slits, Hα is also covered. (3 data files).

Imported case of acute respiratory tract infection associated with a member of species nelson bay orthoreovirus.

PubMed

Yamanaka, Atsushi; Iwakiri, Akira; Yoshikawa, Tomoki; Sakai, Kouji; Singh, Harpal; Himeji, Daisuke; Kikuchi, Ikuo; Ueda, Akira; Yamamoto, Seigo; Miura, Miho; Shioyama, Yoko; Kawano, Kimiko; Nagaishi, Tokiko; Saito, Minako; Minomo, Masumi; Iwamoto, Naoyasu; Hidaka, Yoshio; Sohma, Hirotoshi; Kobayashi, Takeshi; Kanai, Yuta; Kawagishi, Takehiro; Nagata, Noriyo; Fukushi, Shuetsu; Mizutani, Tetsuya; Tani, Hideki; Taniguchi, Satoshi; Fukuma, Aiko; Shimojima, Masayuki; Kurane, Ichiro; Kageyama, Tsutomu; Odagiri, Takato; Saijo, Masayuki; Morikawa, Shigeru

2014-01-01

A Japanese man suffered from acute respiratory tract infection after returning to Japan from Bali, Indonesia in 2007. Miyazaki-Bali/2007, a strain of the species of Nelson Bay orthoreovirus, was isolated from the patient's throat swab using Vero cells, in which syncytium formation was observed. This is the sixth report describing a patient with respiratory tract infection caused by an orthoreovirus classified to the species of Nelson Bay orthoreovirus. Given the possibility that all of the patients were infected in Malaysia and Indonesia, prospective surveillance on orthoreovirus infections should be carried out in Southeast Asia. Furthermore, contact surveillance study suggests that the risk of human-to-human infection of the species of Nelson Bay orthoreovirus would seem to be low.

Large-Scale Deformation and Uplift Associated with Serpentinization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Germanovich, L. N.; Lowell, R. P.; Smith, J. E.

2014-12-01

Geologic and geophysical data suggest that partially serpentinized peridotites and serpentinites are a significant part of the oceanic lithosphere. All serpentinization reactions are exothermic and result in volume expansion as high as 40%. Volume expansion beneath the seafloor will lead to surface uplift and elevated stresses in the neighborhood of the region undergoing serpentinization. The serpentinization-induced stresses are likely to result in faulting or tensile fracturing that promote the serpentinization process by creating new permeability and allowing fluid access to fresh peridotite. To explore these issues, we developed a first-order model of crustal deformation by considering an inclusion undergoing transformation strain in an elastic half-space. Using solutions for inclusions of different shapes, orientations, and depths, we calculate the surface uplift and mechanical stresses generated by the serpentinization processes. We discuss the topographic features at the TAG hydrothermal field (Mid-Atlantic Ridge, 26°N), uplift of the Miyazaki Plain (Southwestern Japan), and tectonic history of the Atlantic Massif (inside corner high of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, 30°N, and the Atlantis Transform Fault). Our analysis suggests that an anomalous salient of 3 km in diameter and 100 m high at TAG may have resulted from approximately 20% transformational strain in a region beneath the footwall of the TAG detachment fault. This serpentinization process tends to promote slip along some overlying normal faults, which may then enhance fluid pathways to the deeper crust to continue the serpentinization process. The serpentinization also favors slip and seismicity along the antithetic faults identified below the TAG detachment fault. Our solution for the Miyazaki Plain above the Kyushu-Palau subduction zone explains the observed uplift of 120 m, but the transformational strain needs only be 3%. Transformational strains associated with serpentinization in this region may

Possible precursors to the 2011 3/11 Japan earthquake:

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hayakawa, M.; Hobara, Y.; Schekotov, A.; Rozhnoi, A.; Solovieva, M.

2012-04-01

The purpose of this paper is to present a possible precursor to the 2011 March 11 Japan earthquake. First of all, we present the results on subionospheric VLF/LF propagation anomaly (ionospheric perturbation) by means of Japan-Russia VLF network. It is found that the ionospheric perturbation is clearly detected on March 4, 5 and 6 on the propagation paths of NLK (Seattle, USA) to Japanese stations and on a path of JJI (Miyazaki, Kyushu) to Kamchatka. Next, we present the results on the ULF depression (horizontal component) on the same days, which is interpreted in terms of the absorption in the disturbed lower ionosphere of the downgoing magnetospheric Alfve'n waves. These two precursors are considered to be due to the same effect of the lower ionospheric perturbation about one week before the earthquake.

Improvements of the Penalty Avoiding Rational Policy Making Algorithm and an Application to the Othello Game

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miyazaki, Kazuteru; Tsuboi, Sougo; Kobayashi, Shigenobu

The purpose of reinforcement learning is to learn an optimal policy in general. However, in 2-players games such as the othello game, it is important to acquire a penalty avoiding policy. In this paper, we focus on formation of a penalty avoiding policy based on the Penalty Avoiding Rational Policy Making algorithm [Miyazaki 01]. In applying it to large-scale problems, we are confronted with the curse of dimensionality. We introduce several ideas and heuristics to overcome the combinational explosion in large-scale problems. First, we propose an algorithm to save the memory by calculation of state transition. Second, we describe how to restrict exploration by two type knowledge; KIFU database and evaluation funcion. We show that our learning player can always defeat against the well-known othello game program KITTY.

ELECTRON MICROSCOPE STUDY OF MYCOBACTERIUM LEPRAE AND ITS ENVIRONMENT IN A VESICULAR LEPROUS LESION

PubMed Central

Imaeda, Tamotsu; Convit, Jacinto

1962-01-01

Imaeda, Tamotsu (Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Cientificas, Caracas, Venezuela) and Jacinto Convit. Electron microscope study of Mycobacterium leprae and its environment in a vesicular leprous lesion. J. Bacteriol. 83:43–52. 1962.—Biopsied specimens of a borderline leprosy lesion were observed with the electron microscope. In this lesion, the majority of Mycobacterium leprae were laden with cytoplasmic components. The bacilli were separated from the cytoplasm of host cells by an enclosing membrane, thus differing from the environment of well-developed lepra cells in lepromatous lesions. The cell wall is composed of a moderately dense layer. A diffuse layer is discernible outside the cell wall, separated from it by a low density space. It is suggested that the cell wall is further coated by a low density layer, although the nature of the outermost diffuse layer has not yet been determined. The plasma membrane consists of a double layer, i.e., dense inner and outer layers separated by a low density space. The outer layer is closely adjacent to the cell wall. In the region where the outer layer of the plasma membrane enters the cytoplasm and is transformed into a complex membranous structure, the inner layer encloses this membranous configuration. Together they form the intracytoplasmic membrane system. In the bacterial cytoplasm, moderately dense, presumably polyphosphate bodies are apparent. As neither these bodies nor the intracytoplasmic membrane system are visible in the degenerating bacilli, it seems probable that these two components represent indicators of the state of bacillary activity. Images PMID:16561926

Does the longus colli have an effect on cervical vertigo?

PubMed Central

Liu, Xiao-Ming; Pan, Fu-Min; Yong, Zhi-Yao; Ba, Zhao-yu; Wang, Shan-Jin; Liu, Zheng; Zhao, Wei-dong; Wu, De-Sheng

2017-01-01

Abstract The aim of the study was to evaluate the role of the longus colli muscles in cervical vertigo. We retrospectively analyzed 116 adult patients who underwent anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) during 2014 in our department. Patients were assigned to the vertigo group or the nonvertigo group. Demographic data were recorded. Inner distance and cross-sectional area (CSA) of longus colli were measured using coronal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The vertigo group (n = 44) and the nonvertigo group (n = 72) were similar in demographic data. Mean preoperative Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score was higher in the vertigo group than in the nonvertigo group (P = 0.037), but no difference postoperatively. Mean JOA scores increased significantly postoperatively in both groups (P = 0.002 and P = 0.001). The mean vertigo score decreased significantly from pre- to postoperatively in the vertigo group (P = 0.023). The mean preoperative Cobb angle was significantly smaller in the vertigo group than in the nonvertigo group (P <0.001), but no significant difference postoperatively. After ACDF, the mean Cobb angle increased significantly in the vertigo group (P <0.001). The instability rates of C3/4 and C4/5 were significantly higher in the vertigo group (P <0.001 and P <0.001). The inner distance of longus colli was significantly shorter (P = 0.032 and P = 0.026) and CSA significantly smaller (P = 0.041 and P = 0.035), at C3/4 and C4/5 in the vertigo group than in the nonvertigo group. Mean Miyazaki scores were significantly higher in the vertigo group at C3/4 and C4/5 (P = 0.044 and P = 0.037). Moreover, a shorter inner distance and smaller CSA were related to a higher Miyazaki score. Inner distance and cross-sectional area (CSA) of longus colli are associated closely with cervical vertigo. Shorter inner distance and smaller CSA of the longus colli muscles might be risk factors for cervical vertigo. ACDF

Does the longus colli have an effect on cervical vertigo?: A retrospective study of 116 patients.

PubMed

Liu, Xiao-Ming; Pan, Fu-Min; Yong, Zhi-Yao; Ba, Zhao-Yu; Wang, Shan-Jin; Liu, Zheng; Zhao, Wei-Dong; Wu, De-Sheng

2017-03-01

The aim of the study was to evaluate the role of the longus colli muscles in cervical vertigo.We retrospectively analyzed 116 adult patients who underwent anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) during 2014 in our department. Patients were assigned to the vertigo group or the nonvertigo group. Demographic data were recorded. Inner distance and cross-sectional area (CSA) of longus colli were measured using coronal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).The vertigo group (n = 44) and the nonvertigo group (n = 72) were similar in demographic data. Mean preoperative Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score was higher in the vertigo group than in the nonvertigo group (P = 0.037), but no difference postoperatively. Mean JOA scores increased significantly postoperatively in both groups (P = 0.002 and P = 0.001). The mean vertigo score decreased significantly from pre- to postoperatively in the vertigo group (P = 0.023). The mean preoperative Cobb angle was significantly smaller in the vertigo group than in the nonvertigo group (P <0.001), but no significant difference postoperatively. After ACDF, the mean Cobb angle increased significantly in the vertigo group (P <0.001). The instability rates of C3/4 and C4/5 were significantly higher in the vertigo group (P <0.001 and P <0.001). The inner distance of longus colli was significantly shorter (P = 0.032 and P = 0.026) and CSA significantly smaller (P = 0.041 and P = 0.035), at C3/4 and C4/5 in the vertigo group than in the nonvertigo group. Mean Miyazaki scores were significantly higher in the vertigo group at C3/4 and C4/5 (P = 0.044 and P = 0.037). Moreover, a shorter inner distance and smaller CSA were related to a higher Miyazaki score.Inner distance and cross-sectional area (CSA) of longus colli are associated closely with cervical vertigo. Shorter inner distance and smaller CSA of the longus colli muscles might be risk factors for cervical vertigo. ACDF provided a

Field test analysis of concentrator photovoltaic system focusing on average photon energy and temperature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Husna, Husyira Al; Ota, Yasuyuki; Minemoto, Takashi; Nishioka, Kensuke

2015-08-01

The concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) system is unique and different from the common flat-plate PV system. It uses a multi-junction solar cell and a Fresnel lens to concentrate direct solar radiation onto the cell while tracking the sun throughout the day. The cell efficiency could reach over 40% under high concentration ratio. In this study, we analyzed a one year set of environmental condition data of the University of Miyazaki, Japan, where the CPV system was installed. Performance ratio (PR) was discussed to describe the system’s performance. Meanwhile, the average photon energy (APE) was used to describe the spectrum distribution at the site where the CPV system was installed. A circuit simulator network was used to simulate the CPV system electrical characteristics under various environmental conditions. As for the result, we found that the PR of the CPV systems depends on the APE level rather than the cell temperature.

Electrostatic roles in electron transfer from [NiFe] hydrogenase to cytochrome c3 from Desulfovibrio vulgaris Miyazaki F.

PubMed

Sugimoto, Yu; Kitazumi, Yuki; Shirai, Osamu; Nishikawa, Koji; Higuchi, Yoshiki; Yamamoto, Masahiro; Kano, Kenji

2017-05-01

Electrostatic interactions between proteins are key factors that govern the association and reaction rate. We spectroscopically determine the second-order reaction rate constant (k) of electron transfer from [NiFe] hydrogenase (H 2 ase) to cytochrome (cyt) c 3 at various ionic strengths (I). The k value decreases with I. To analyze the results, we develop a semi-analytical formula for I dependence of k based on the assumptions that molecules are spherical and the reaction proceeds via a transition state. Fitting of the formula to the experimental data reveals that the interaction occurs in limited regions with opposite charges and with radii much smaller than those estimated from crystal structures. This suggests that local charges in H 2 ase and cyt c 3 play important roles in the reaction. Although the crystallographic data indicate a positive electrostatic potential over almost the entire surface of the proteins, there exists a small region with negative potential on H 2 ase at which the electron transfer from H 2 ase to cyt c 3 may occur. This local negative potential region is identical to the hypothetical interaction sphere predicted by the analysis. Furthermore, I dependence of k is predicted by the Adaptive Poisson-Boltzmann Solver considering all charges of the amino acids in the proteins and the configuration of H 2 ase/cyt c 3 complex. The calculation reproduces the experimental results except at extremely low I. These results indicate that the stabilization derived from the local electrostatic interaction in the H 2 ase/cyt c 3 complex overcomes the destabilization derived from the electrostatic repulsion of the overall positive charge of both proteins. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

[Toxin profiles in fish implicated in ciguatera fish poisoning in Amami and Kakeroma Islands, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan].

PubMed

Yogi, Kentaro; Oshiro, Naomasa; Matsuda, Seiko; Sakugawa, Satsuki; Matsuo, Toshiaki; Yasumoto, Takeshi

2013-01-01

Ciguatoxins (CTXs) responsible for ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP) in Amami Islands, Kagoshima, Japan in 2008 were determined by LC-MS/MS analysis. Ciguatoxin-1B (CTX1B), 54-deoxyCTX1B, and 52-epi-54-deoxyCTX1B were detected in Variola louti and Lutjanus monostigma. The toxin profile distinctly differed from that of a CFP-related fish from Miyazaki, which mainly contained ciguatoxin-3C type toxins. Toxin profiles were species-specific, as observed in fish from Okinawa. The LC-MS/MS and mouse bioassay (MBA) methods produced comparable data, though 54-deoxyCTX1B was not taken into consideration owing to the lack of toxicity data. To improve assessment, toxicity data for this compound are needed. A reef fish caught on the same occasion and judged nontoxic by MBA (<0.025 MU/g) was found to contain low levels of CTX, indicating a potential risk for CFP.

Retrospective study on temporal and regional variations of methylmercury concentrations in preserved umbilical cords collected from inhabitants of the Minamata area, Japan.

PubMed

Sakamoto, Mineshi; Murata, Katsuyuki; Tsuruta, Kazuhito; Miyamoto, Kenichiro; Akagi, Hirokatsu

2010-09-01

The present study was conducted to investigate the historical time-course changes and regional distribution of methylmercury concentrations in preserved umbilical cords collected from Minamata-area inhabitants born between 1947 and 1989. The data from Miyazaki, Tottori, Akita, Tsushima (Nagasaki), Fukuoka and Tokyo were used as controls. A total of 325 data were analyzed to estimate the temporal and spatial distribution of methylmercury among inhabitants born in the Minamata area. Elevated methylmercury concentrations (>or=1 microg/g) were mainly observed in inhabitants born between 1947 and 1968. That peak coincided with the peak of acetaldehyde production in Minamata. The methylmercury concentrations started to decrease in keeping with the decline of acetaldehyde production, which ceased in 1968, and thereafter the methylmercury levels gradually decreased to the control levels. Elevated methylmercury concentrations were first observed in the districts of Minamata, followed by Izumi, Tsunagi and Ashikita, indicating the time-course-dependent regional distributions of methylmercury pollution. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Development of an "Alert Framework" Based on the Practices in the Medical Front.

PubMed

Sakata, Takuya; Araki, Kenji; Yamazaki, Tomoyoshi; Kawano, Koichi; Maeda, Minoru; Kushima, Muneo; Araki, Sanae

2018-05-09

At the University of Miyazaki Hospital (UMH), we have accumulated and semantically structured a vast amount of medical information since the activation of the electronic health record system approximately 10 years ago. With this medical information, we have decided to develop an alert system for aiding in medical treatment. The purpose of this investigation is to not only to integrate an alert framework into the electronic heath record system, but also to formulate a modeling method of this knowledge. A trial alert framework was developed for the staff in various occupational categories at the UMH. Based on findings of subsequent interviews, a more detailed and upgraded alert framework was constructed, resulting in the final model. Based on our current findings, an alert framework was developed with four major items. Based on the analysis of the medical practices from the trial model, it has been concluded that there are four major risk patterns that trigger the alert. Furthermore, the current alert framework contains detailed definitions which are easily substituted into the database, leading to easy implementation of the electronic health records.

Hydride bridge in [NiFe]-hydrogenase observed by nuclear resonance vibrational spectroscopy

DOE PAGES

Ogata, Hideaki; Krämer, Tobias; Wang, Hongxin; ...

2015-08-10

The metabolism of many anaerobes relies on [NiFe]-hydrogenases, whose characterization when bound to substrates has proven non-trivial. Presented here is direct evidence for a hydride bridge in the active site of the 57Fe-labelled fully reduced Ni-R form of Desulfovibrio vulgaris Miyazaki F [NiFe]-hydrogenase. A unique ‘wagging’ mode involving H- motion perpendicular to the Ni(μ-H)57Fe plane was studied using 57Fe-specific nuclear resonance vibrational spectroscopy and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. On Ni(μ-D)57Fe deuteride substitution, this wagging causes a characteristic perturbation of Fe–CO/CN bands. Spectra have been interpreted by comparison with Ni(μ-H/D)57Fe enzyme mimics [(dppe)Ni(μ-pdt)(μ-H/D)57Fe(CO)3]+ and DFT calculations, which collectively indicate amore » low-spin Ni(II)(μ-H)Fe(II) core for Ni-R, with H- binding Ni more tightly than Fe. Lastly, the present methodology is also relevant to characterizing Fe–H moieties in other important natural and synthetic catalysts.« less

Hydride bridge in [NiFe]-hydrogenase observed by nuclear resonance vibrational spectroscopy

PubMed Central

Ogata, Hideaki; Krämer, Tobias; Wang, Hongxin; Schilter, David; Pelmenschikov, Vladimir; van Gastel, Maurice; Neese, Frank; Rauchfuss, Thomas B.; Gee, Leland B.; Scott, Aubrey D.; Yoda, Yoshitaka; Tanaka, Yoshihito; Lubitz, Wolfgang; Cramer, Stephen P.

2015-01-01

The metabolism of many anaerobes relies on [NiFe]-hydrogenases, whose characterization when bound to substrates has proven non-trivial. Presented here is direct evidence for a hydride bridge in the active site of the 57Fe-labelled fully reduced Ni-R form of Desulfovibrio vulgaris Miyazaki F [NiFe]-hydrogenase. A unique ‘wagging' mode involving H− motion perpendicular to the Ni(μ-H)57Fe plane was studied using 57Fe-specific nuclear resonance vibrational spectroscopy and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. On Ni(μ-D)57Fe deuteride substitution, this wagging causes a characteristic perturbation of Fe–CO/CN bands. Spectra have been interpreted by comparison with Ni(μ-H/D)57Fe enzyme mimics [(dppe)Ni(μ-pdt)(μ-H/D)57Fe(CO)3]+ and DFT calculations, which collectively indicate a low-spin Ni(II)(μ-H)Fe(II) core for Ni-R, with H− binding Ni more tightly than Fe. The present methodology is also relevant to characterizing Fe–H moieties in other important natural and synthetic catalysts. PMID:26259066

Five new species of philometrid nematodes (Philometridae) from marine fishes off Java, Indonesia.

PubMed

Moravec, Frantisek; Walter, Thorsten; Yuniar, Asri Trisnani

2012-06-01

Based on light and scanning electron microscopical studies, the following five species of the Philometridae (Nematoda: Dracunculoidea) are described from female specimens collected from marine fishes off the southwestern coast of Java, Indonesia: Philometra lobotidis sp. n. from the abdominal cavity of the Atlantic tripletail Lobotes surinamensis (Bloch) (Lobotidae, Perciformes); Philometra javaensis sp. n. from the abdominal cavity of the immaculate puffer Arothron immaculatus (Bloch et Schneider) (Tetraodontidae, Tetraodontiformes); Philometra psettoditis sp. n. from the musculature of the Indian spiny turbot Psettodes erumei (Bloch et Schneider) (Psettodidae, Pleuronectiformes); Philometroides indonesiensis sp. n. from the musculature of the hound needlefish Tylosurus crocodilus crocodilus (Péron et Lesueur) (Belonidae, Beloniformes); and Philometroides trichiuri sp. n. from the dorsal fin of the largehead hairtail Trichiurus lepturus Linnaeus (type host) and the savalai hairtail Lepturacanthus savala (Cuvier) (both Trichiuridae, Perciformes). All these new species are distinguished from their congeners parasitizing marine fishes by morphological (mainly the shape and structure of the cephalic and caudal ends and of the oesophagus) and biometrical features. Besides previously known Philometra pellucida (Jägerskiöld, 1893) and Philometra ocularis Moravec, Ogawa, Suzuki, Miyazaki et Donai, 2002, they are the only nominal philometrid species recorded from Indonesian waters.

[Use of Caco-2 cells for isolation of influenza virus].

PubMed

Yoshino, S; Yamamoto, S; Kawabata, N

1998-04-01

In this study we assessed the usefulness of Caco-2 cells, derived from a human colon carcinoma, to isolate an influenza virus. Throat washings collected from 30 patients with influenza-like illnesses in Miyazaki Prefecture in 1997 were inoculated in MDCK and Caco-2 cells, 17 influenza virus strains were isolated in MDCK cells, and 20 in Caco-2 cells. Of all the viruses isolated, only one strain was identified as influenza virus type B; other strains were identified as type A (H3N2). Furthermore, some influenza viruses were isolated in Caco-2 cells also from the specimens collected between 1991 and 1997. With Caco-2 cells, each type of influenza virus was isolated effectively without the supplement of trypsin in the culture medium. These facts indicate the usefulness of Caco-2 cells as a host to isolate influenza virus as shown to be suitable in the detection of many types of enteric viruses. Caco-2 cells will serve as a useful cell line for the surveillance of infectious disease because Caco-2 cells are sensitive to a wide range of virus.

Impact of spectral irradiance distribution and temperature on the outdoor performance of concentrator photovoltaic system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Husna, Husyira Al; Shibata, Naoki; Sawano, Naoki; Ueno, Seiya; Ota, Yasuyuki; Minemoto, Takashi; Araki, Kenji; Nishioka, Kensuke

2013-09-01

Multi-junction solar cell is designed to have considerable effect towards the solar spectrum distribution so that the maximum solar radiation could be absorbed hence, enhancing the energy conversion efficiency of the cell. Due to its application in CPV system, the system's characteristics are more sensitive to environmental factor in comparison to flat-plate PV system which commonly equipped with Si-based solar cell. In this paper, the impact of environmental factors i.e. average photon energy (APE) and temperature of solar cell (Tcell) towards the performance of the tracking type CPV system were discussed. A year data period of direct spectral irradiance, cell temperature, and power output which recorded from November 2010 to October 2011 at a CPV system power generator plant located at Miyazaki, Japan was used in this study. The result showed that most frequent condition during operation was at APE = 1.87±0.005eV, Tcell = 65±2.5°C with performance ratio of 83.9%. Furthermore, an equivalent circuit simulation of a CPV subsystem in module unit was conducted in order to investigate the influence of environmental factors towards the performance of the module.

Area densitometry using rotating Scheimpflug photography for posterior capsule opacification and surface light scattering analyses.

PubMed

Minami, Keiichiro; Honbo, Masato; Mori, Yosai; Kataoka, Yasushi; Miyata, Kazunori

2015-11-01

To compare area densitometry analysis using rotating Scheimpflug photography in quantifications of posterior capsule opacification (PCO) and surface light scattering with previous anterior-segment analyzer measurement. Miyata Eye Hospital, Miyazaki, Japan. Prospective observational case series. Scheimpflug images of eyes with foldable intraocular lenses (IOLs) were obtained using rotating and fixed Scheimpflug photography. Area densitometry on the posterior and anterior surfaces was conducted for PCO and surface light scattering analyses, respectively, with an identical area size. Correlation between two measurements was analyzed using linear regression. The study included 105 eyes of 74 patients who received IOLs 1 to 18 years (mean, 4.9 ± 4.5 years) postoperatively. In the PCO analysis on the posterior IOL surface, there was a significant correlation between the two measurements (P < .001, R(2) = 0.60). In the surface light scattering analysis, a significant and higher correlation was obtained (P < .001, R(2) = 0.91) until the fixed Scheimpflug photography exhibited saturation due to intensive scatterings. Area densitometry combined with a rotating Scheimpflug photography was exchangeable to previously established densitometry measurement, and allowed successive evaluation in longer-term observations. Copyright © 2015 ASCRS and ESCRS. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Determination of toxins involved in ciguatera fish poisoning in the Pacific by LC/MS.

PubMed

Yogi, Kentaro; Sakugawa, Satsuki; Oshiro, Naomasa; Ikehara, Tsuyoshi; Sugiyama, Kiminori; Yasumoto, Takeshi

2014-01-01

Ciguatera fish poisoning is the most extensive and difficult to control of the seafood poisonings. To facilitate monitoring of fish toxicity, toxin profiles were investigated by an LC/MS/MS method using 14 reference toxins on eight representative species of fish collected in four different areas of the Pacific. Snappers and groupers from Okinawa contained ciguatoxin-1B (CTX1B) and two deoxy congeners at variable but species-specific ratios, while red snapper, Lutjanus bohar, from Minamitorishima, and amberjack, Seriola dumerili, from Hawaii, contained both CTX1B-type and CTX3C-type toxins. Spotted knifejaw, Oplegnathus punctatus, from Okinawan waters, contained mainly CTX4A and CTX4B, but the same species caught at Miyazaki was contaminated primarily with the CTX3C-type toxins. Otherwise, the toxin profiles were consistently species-specific in fish collected from various locations around Okinawa over 20 years. The LC/MS/MS and mouse bioassay results agreed well, indicating the LC/MS/MS method is a promising alternative to the mouse bioassay. Pure CTX1B and CTX3C were prepared for use in future LC/MS/MS analysis.

Comparison of community reactions to traffic noise

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Osada, Y.

1991-12-01

In 1989, the community reaction to aircraft noise was surveyed around the New Tokyo International Airport (Narita Airport) by means of an interview method. The questionnaire used in the survey was a modified version of a question sheet used in a study around Yokota Airbase in 1971. The results of these two surveys were compared. The response to questions on interference with conversation, talking on the telephone and listening to TV and radio was quite similar in the two studies. However, some differences were observed in the rates of interference with night sleep and reading and/or concentrating. This may be caused by differences between the two studies in aircraft flight patterns and occupations of the respondents. Such tendencies were also observed when the Narita survey was compared with other studies conducted around the airports of Yokota, Haneda, Chitose, Osaka, Fukuoka and Miyazaki. Finally, the community reaction to aircraft noise was compared with the reaction to road traffic noise and train noise. The rates of annoyance and speech interference were highly dependent on noise levels. Other relevant factors, such as sex, age, year of residence, occupation, etc., had much weaker relations to the extent of reactions.

Performance assessment of EMR systems based on post-relational database.

PubMed

Yu, Hai-Yan; Li, Jing-Song; Zhang, Xiao-Guang; Tian, Yu; Suzuki, Muneou; Araki, Kenji

2012-08-01

Post-relational databases provide high performance and are currently widely used in American hospitals. As few hospital information systems (HIS) in either China or Japan are based on post-relational databases, here we introduce a new-generation electronic medical records (EMR) system called Hygeia, which was developed with the post-relational database Caché and the latest platform Ensemble. Utilizing the benefits of a post-relational database, Hygeia is equipped with an "integration" feature that allows all the system users to access data-with a fast response time-anywhere and at anytime. Performance tests of databases in EMR systems were implemented in both China and Japan. First, a comparison test was conducted between a post-relational database, Caché, and a relational database, Oracle, embedded in the EMR systems of a medium-sized first-class hospital in China. Second, a user terminal test was done on the EMR system Izanami, which is based on the identical database Caché and operates efficiently at the Miyazaki University Hospital in Japan. The results proved that the post-relational database Caché works faster than the relational database Oracle and showed perfect performance in the real-time EMR system.

Evolutionary and comparative analyses of the soybean genome

PubMed Central

Cannon, Steven B.; Shoemaker, Randy C.

2012-01-01

The soybean genome assembly has been available since the end of 2008. Significant features of the genome include large, gene-poor, repeat-dense pericentromeric regions, spanning roughly 57% of the genome sequence; a relatively large genome size of ~1.15 billion bases; remnants of a genome duplication that occurred ~13 million years ago (Mya); and fainter remnants of older polyploidies that occurred ~58 Mya and >130 Mya. The genome sequence has been used to identify the genetic basis for numerous traits, including disease resistance, nutritional characteristics, and developmental features. The genome sequence has provided a scaffold for placement of many genomic feature elements, both from within soybean and from related species. These may be accessed at several websites, including http://www.phytozome.net, http://soybase.org, http://comparative-legumes.org, and http://www.legumebase.brc.miyazaki-u.ac.jp. The taxonomic position of soybean in the Phaseoleae tribe of the legumes means that there are approximately two dozen other beans and relatives that have undergone independent domestication, and which may have traits that will be useful for transfer to soybean. Methods of translating information between species in the Phaseoleae range from design of markers for marker assisted selection, to transformation with Agrobacterium or with other experimental transformation methods. PMID:23136483

The relationship between suicide and five climate issues in a large-scale and long-term study in Japan.

PubMed

Inoue, K; Nishimura, Y; Fujita, Y; Ono, Y; Fukunaga, T

2012-08-01

Suicide rates in Japan were high in 1998 and have remained high since then. Many researchers have discussed the current state of suicide in Japan and the world; however, there are various opinions about the relationship between suicide and climate. In the present study, we report on long-term data of suicide and examine five climatic issues in Japan as a whole and in 10 selected prefectures: the five with the highest suicide rates in 2006 (Akita, Iwate, Shimane, Yamagata and Miyazaki Prefectures) and the five with the lowest (Nara, Tokushima, Okayama, Kanagawa and Kyoto Prefectures). Annual age-adjusted suicide rates were found to have a significant inverse correlation with annual mean air temperature in the five prefectures with the highest suicide rates and in the three prefectures with the lowest suicide rates among women. Annual age-adjusted suicide rates were significantly correlated with annual mean relative humidity in the three prefectures with the highest suicide rates among women and with the annual total sunshine duration in the three prefectures with the highest suicide rates among women. It is important that these associations between suicide and climatic factors be discussed further from various viewpoints, including those of many researchers and relevant organizations.

Polymorphisms of RDH16 and VEGFR1 influence M. trapezius steatosis in Japanese Black carcass.

PubMed

Ishida, Takafumi; Noda, Kosuke; Jomane, Fortune Ntengwa; Tokunaga, Tadaaki

2017-08-01

The exact cause of steatosis, one of defects in Japanese beef carcasses, has not been elucidated to date, because it is very difficult to diagnose cyclopedically with certain reproducibility due to the bias in the outbreak. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the influence of polymorphisms in retinol dehydrogenase 16 (RDH16), myoferlin (MYOF) and vascular endothelial growth factor receptors 1 and 2 (VEGFR1, VEGFR2) on carcass-graded Musculus trapezius steatosis. For logistic regression analysis, 646 carcasses shipped from 29 farms in Miyazaki, Japan, were used. The GG genotype in RDH16 showed significant odds ratios against AA and AG. In VEGFR1, CT had a significant odds ratio against CC. After evaluating for interaction, highly significant odds ratios were observed in the combinations that included the GG risk genotype in RDH16. It is noteworthy that there was no steatosis in the combination GG (RDH16) and CC (VEGFR1). It may be concluded that there is a possibility that steatosis can be suppressed by the CC genotype in VEGFR1. The current study revealed the influence of genetic polymorphisms on M. trapezius steatosis that had not been reported until now, and may help elucidate the cause of steatosis. © 2016 Japanese Society of Animal Science.

Use of digital patient photographs and electronic medical record data as diagnostic tools in Japan.

PubMed

Kawano, Koichi; Suzuki, Muneoh; Araki, Kenji

2012-10-01

An electronic medical record (EMR) system was introduced to the University of Miyazaki Hospital, in Japan, in 2006. This hospital is the only one in Japan to store digital photographs of patients within EMRs. In this paper, we report on the utility of these digital photographs for disease diagnosis. Digital photographs of patients were taken at the time of hospitalization, and have been used for patient identification by medical staff. More than 20,000 digital photographs have been saved, along with examination data and medical history classified by disease, since the introduction of EMR. In the first part of the present study, we analyzed the facial cheek color of patients using photographs taken at the time of hospitalization in relation to diagnoses in six disease categories that were considered to lead to characteristic facial skin characteristics. We verified the presence or absence of a characteristic color for each disease category. Next, we focused on four diseases, Analysis of the facial skin color of 1268 patients found the same patterns of characteristic color. Overall, we found significant differences in complexion according to disease type, based on the analysis of color from digital photos and other EMR information. We propose that color analysis data should become an additional item of information stored in EMRs.

[Educational usefulness of lung auscultation training with an auscultation simulator].

PubMed

Arimura, Yasuji; Komatsu, Hiroyuki; Yanagi, Shigehisa; Matsumoto, Nobuhiro; Okayama, Akihiko; Hayashi, Katsuhiro; Nakazato, Masamitsu

2011-06-01

We examined the educational usefulness of lung auscultation training with an auscultation simulator "Mr. Lung". Auscultation training was conducted for fifth-year students of the Medical Department of the University of Miyazaki, and consisted of a lecture by a pulmonologist (Board Certified Member of the Japanese Respiratory Society) and skill training using Mr. Lung for a total of 90 min. We compared the percentages of students who correctly identified 4 adventitious sounds before and after training. We also investigated the responses to a self-report questionnaire on self-evaluation after training, auscultation experiences before training, and opinions regarding medical education with the simulator. The subjects' correct answer rate before training was 40% or less and that for the correct identification of rhonchi was the lowest (5%). The correct answer rate, which was not influenced by previous experience of auscultation, significantly increased after training (80% or more). In the self-report questionnaire, about 90% of the students answered that the ability to identify lung sounds by auscultation was necessary for all doctors and that the simulator was effective for acquiring this skill. The auscultation simulator may be useful for medical students not only to enhance auscultatory skills but also to realize the importance of auscultation in clinical examination.

Herpes Zoster and Recurrent Herpes Zoster

PubMed Central

Toyama, Nozomu; Daikoku, Tohru; Yajima, Misako

2017-01-01

Abstract Background. The incidence of recurrent herpes zoster (HZ) and the relationship between initial and recurrent HZ are not clear. Methods. The Miyazaki Dermatologist Society has surveyed ~5000 patients with HZ annually since 1997. A questionnaire regarding HZ and its recurrence was completed by the dermatologists. Results. A total of 34 877 patients with HZ were registered at 43 clinics between June 2009 and November 2015. Among 16 784 patients seen at 10 of the 43 clinics, 1076 patients (6.41%) experienced recurrence. Herpes zoster was more frequent in female than in male patients (5.27 vs 4.25 in 1000 person-years, P < .001), as was HZ recurrence (7.63% vs 4.73%, P < .001). Two and three recurrences were observed in 49 and 3 patients, respectively. Recurrence in the same dermatome was observed in 16.3% of patients, and more frequently this occurred in the left side (P = .027). The number of HZ-experienced persons increased with age, and one third of the population had experienced HZ by the age of 80. Conclusions. Recurrent HZ was observed in 6.41% of patients, with a higher incidence in women. Moreover, HZ experience reduced the HZ incidence to 31.7% of the incidence in the HZ-naive population. PMID:28480280

Analysis of Ground Effects on Aerodynamic Characteristics of Aerofoils Using Boundary Layer Approximation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takahashi, Yuji; Kikuchi, Masanori; Hirano, Kimitaka

A study of a new high-speed zero-emission transportation “Aerotrain” is being carried out in Tohoku University and the University of Miyazaki. Because the aerotrain utilizes the ground effect, research on the aerofoil section, which can harness the ground effect effectively, is important. The aerotrain moves along a U-shaped guideway, which has a ground and sidewalls, so it has many viscous interference elements. In an analysis of the ground effects on the aerodynamic characteristics of aerofoils, the boundary layers on the aerofoil surface must be considered. At first, velocity distributions on the surfaces of aerofoils in potential flows are computed using the vortex method, then the momentum integration equations of the boundary layer are solved with experimental formulas. This procedure has the following advantages: modifications of the aerofoil section are easy because it is not necessary to make complicated computational grids, boundary layer transition and separation can be predicted using empirical procedures. The aerodynamic characteristics of four types of aerofoil sections are investigated to clarify the relationship between aerofoil sections and ground effects. Computational results are compared with experimental results obtained using a towing wind tunnel to verify computational precisions. In addition, aerofoil characteristics at an actual cruise speed are analyzed.

Purification and characterization of homo- and hetero-dimeric acetate kinases from the sulfate-reducing bacterium Desulfovibrio vulgaris.

PubMed

Yu, L; Ishida, T; Ozawa, K; Akutsu, H; Horiike, K

2001-03-01

Two distinct forms of acetate kinase were purified to homogeneity from a sulfate-reducing bacterium Desulfovibrio vulgaris Miyazaki F. The enzymes were separated from the soluble fraction of the cells on anion exchange columns. One acetate kinase (AK-I) was a homodimer (alpha(S)(2)) and the other (AK-II) was a heterodimer (alpha(S)alpha(L)). On SDS-PAGE, alpha(L) and alpha(S) subunits migrated as bands of 49.3 and 47.8 kDa, respectively, but they had an identical N-terminal amino acid sequence. A rapid HPLC method was developed to directly measure ADP and ATP in assay mixtures. Initial velocity data for AK-I and AK-II were collected by this method and analyzed based on a random sequential mechanism, assuming rapid equilibrium for the substrate binding steps. All kinetic parameters for both the forward acetyl phosphate formation and the reverse ATP formation catalyzed by AK-I and AK-II were successfully determined. The two enzymes showed similar kinetic properties in Mg(2+) requirement, pH-dependence and magnitude of kinetic parameters. These results suggest that two forms of acetate kinase are produced to finely regulate the enzyme function by post-translational modifications of a primary gene product in Desulfovibrio vulgaris.

Research activities on submarine landslides in gentle continental slope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morita, S.; Goto, S.; Miyata, Y.; Nakamura, Y.; Kitahara, Y.; Yamada, Y.

2013-12-01

Expedition 337, which is conducted in a part of the study area from July through September in 2012. The values of vitrinite reflectance will be available for modeling thermal history in the sedimentary basin. A science meeting and a field trip were held in Miyazaki Prefecture in September , 2012. At the field trip, we observed typical geologic structures related to slumping and dewatering in Nichinan Group, which are good onshore objects so as to share the aspects of the slump deposits in the Sanrikuoki Basin among the community. This occasion is aimed at sharing better scientific understanding on slumping and related dewatering and also at identifying the issues for planning the scientific drilling. This study uses the 3D seismic data from the METI seismic survey 'Sanrikuoki 3D' in 2008. The seismic analysis, the vitrinite reflectance analysis, and the science meeting and the field excursion in Miyazaki were supported by the foundation of feasibility studies for future IODP scientific drillings by JAMSTEC CDEX in 2012-2013.

Burnout in Japanese residents and its associations with temperament and character.

PubMed

Miyoshi, Ryoei; Matsuo, Hisae; Takeda, Ryuichiro; Komatsu, Hiroyuki; Abe, Hiroshi; Ishida, Yasushi

2016-12-01

High risk of burnout in healthcare workers has long been recognized. However, there are no methods to predict vulnerability to burnout. We examined whether temperament and character are associated with burnout and depressive state in residents by using the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). The TCI was used for residents at the beginning of clinical training and then the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey (MBI-GS) and the Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) were administered at the beginning of clinical training and after four and ten months. Participants were 85 residents who started clinical training after graduating from the University of Miyazaki Hospital in April 2012 and 2013. After ten months, 23.5% of participants were newly identified with burnout using the MBI-GS and 15.3% of participants were newly diagnosed with depressive state using the SDS. We found that residents with high Cooperativeness were significantly more prone to burnout and that residents with high Harm Avoidance and low Self-Directedness were significantly more prone to depressive states. Our results suggest that the TCI can predict not only the risk for future depressive state but also the risk for future burnout. We feel it is important for the resident education system to identify residents with these temperament and character traits and to help high-risk residents avoid burnout and depressive state. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Analysis of factors associated with hesitation to restart farming after depopulation of animals due to 2010 foot-and-mouth disease epidemic in Japan.

PubMed

Kadowaki, Hazumu; Kayano, Taishi; Tobinaga, Takaharu; Tsutsumi, Atsuro; Watari, Michiko; Makita, Kohei

2016-09-01

An outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) occurred in Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan, in 2010. This epidemic was controlled with culling and vaccination, and resulted in the death of nearly 290,000 animals. This paper describes the factors associated with hesitation to restart farming after the epidemic. A questionnaire survey was conducted to assess the mental health of farmers one year after the end of the FMD epidemic in affected areas, and univariate and multivariable analyses were performed. Of 773 farms which had answered the question about restart farming, 55.4% (428/773) had resumed or were planning to resume operation. The farms hesitated restarting were characterized by small scale (P=0.06) and having multiple sources of income (P<0.01). Personal attributes associated with hesitation to restart were advanced age of the owner (P<0.01), with someone with bad physical conditions (P=0.04) and small family size (P<0.01). Factors related to disease control during the epidemic that were associated with hesitation to restart were vaccination of animals (P<0.01), not assisting with culling on other farms (P<0.01), and higher satisfaction with information provided by the government (P=0.02). We found that farmers hesitated to resume farming because they had a limited labor force, had an alternative business or were mentally distressed during disease control.

Frequency Characteristics of the MAGLEV Double-layered Propulsion Coil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ema, Satoshi

The MAGLEV (magnetically levitated vehicle) is now well along in development testing at Yamanashi Test Line. The MAGLEV power source needs to supply a variable voltage and variable frequency to propulsion coils, which installed on outdoor guideway. The output voltage of the electric power converter contains many higher harmonics, which causes many troubles such as inductive interference. Accordingly, it is necessary to clarify the frequency characteristics of the propulsion coils and the power feeding circuit. In view of this situation, experiments and the theoretical analysis concerning the frequency characteristics of the propulsion coils with single-layer arrangement and the power feeding circuit at Miyazaki Test Line had been performed by the author. But the arrangement of the propulsion coils had been changed in Yamanashi Test Line from the single-layered coils to the double-layered coils for the stability of the super-conducting magnet on board. Thus, experiments and investigations concerning the frequency characteristics(resonance characteristics)of the propulsion coils with double-layer arrangement at Yamanashi Test Line have been performed but a theoretical analysis had not been done enough. A theoretical analysis was therefore done in this paper by applying the inverted L equivalent circuit with mutual inductance and capacitance to the propulsion coil, from which the positive and zero phase characteristics of the double-layered propulsion coils were analyzed.

Dual gas-diffusion membrane- and mediatorless dihydrogen/air-breathing biofuel cell operating at room temperature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xia, Hong-qi; So, Keisei; Kitazumi, Yuki; Shirai, Osamu; Nishikawa, Koji; Higuchi, Yoshiki; Kano, Kenji

2016-12-01

A membraneless direct electron transfer (DET)-type dihydrogen (H2)/air-breathing biofuel cell without any mediator was constructed wherein bilirubin oxidase from Myrothecium verrucaria (BOD) and membrane-bound [NiFe] hydrogenase from Desulfovibrio vulgaris Miyazaki F (MBH) were used as biocatalysts for the cathode and the anode, respectively, and Ketjen black-modified water proof carbon paper (KB/WPCC) was used as an electrode material. The KB/WPCC surface was modified with 2-aminobenzoic acid and p-phenylenediamine, respectively, to face the positively charged electron-accepting site of BOD and the negatively charged electron-donating site of MBH to the electrode surface. A gas-diffusion system was employed for the electrodes to realize high-speed substrate supply. As result, great improvement in the current density of O2 reduction with BOD and H2 reduction with MBH were realized at negatively and postively charged surfaces, respectively. Gas diffusion system also suppressed the oxidative inactivation of MBH at high electrode potentials. Finally, based on the improved bioanode and biocathode, a dual gas-diffusion membrane- and mediatorless H2/air-breathing biofuel cell was constructed. The maximum power density reached 6.1 mW cm-2 (at 0.72 V), and the open circuit voltage was 1.12 V using 1 atm of H2 gas as a fuel at room temperature and under passive and quiescent conditions.

Direct Comparison of the Performance of a Bio-inspired Synthetic Nickel Catalyst and a [NiFe]-Hydrogenase, Both Covalently Attached to Electrodes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rodriguez-Macia, Patricia; Dutta, Arnab; Lubitz, Wolfgang

2015-10-12

The active site of hydrogenases has been a source of inspiration for the development of molecular catalysts. However, direct comparisons between molecular catalysts and enzymes have not been possible because different techniques are used to evaluate both types of catalysts, minimizing our ability to determine how far we’ve come in mimicking the impressive enzymatic performance. Here we directly compare the catalytic properties of the [Ni(PCy2NGly2)2]2+ complex with the [NiFe]-hydrogenase from Desulfobivrio vulgaris Miyazaki F (DvMF) immobilized to a functionalized electrode under identical conditions. At pH=7, the enzyme has higher performance in both activity and overpotential, and is more stable, whilemore » at low pH, the molecular catalyst outperforms the enzyme in all respects. The Ni complex also has increased tolerance to CO. This is the first direct comparison of enzymes and molecular complexes, enabling a unique understanding of the benefits and detriments of both systems, and advancing our understanding of the utilization of these bioinspired complexes in fuel cells. AD and WJS acknowledge the Office of Science Early Career Research Program through the US Department of Energy (US DOE), Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences (BES), and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). PNNL is operated by Battelle for the US DOE.« less

Analysis of factors associated with hesitation to restart farming after depopulation of animals due to 2010 foot-and-mouth disease epidemic in Japan

PubMed Central

KADOWAKI, Hazumu; KAYANO, Taishi; TOBINAGA, Takaharu; TSUTSUMI, Atsuro; WATARI, Michiko; MAKITA, Kohei

2016-01-01

An outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) occurred in Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan, in 2010. This epidemic was controlled with culling and vaccination, and resulted in the death of nearly 290,000 animals. This paper describes the factors associated with hesitation to restart farming after the epidemic. A questionnaire survey was conducted to assess the mental health of farmers one year after the end of the FMD epidemic in affected areas, and univariate and multivariable analyses were performed. Of 773 farms which had answered the question about restart farming, 55.4% (428/773) had resumed or were planning to resume operation. The farms hesitated restarting were characterized by small scale (P=0.06) and having multiple sources of income (P<0.01). Personal attributes associated with hesitation to restart were advanced age of the owner (P<0.01), with someone with bad physical conditions (P=0.04) and small family size (P<0.01). Factors related to disease control during the epidemic that were associated with hesitation to restart were vaccination of animals (P<0.01), not assisting with culling on other farms (P<0.01), and higher satisfaction with information provided by the government (P=0.02). We found that farmers hesitated to resume farming because they had a limited labor force, had an alternative business or were mentally distressed during disease control. PMID:27149890

We are Family: the Conformations of 1-FLUOROALKANES, C_nH2n+1F (n = 2,3,4,5,6,7,8)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Obenchain, Daniel A.; Orellana, W.; Cooke, S. A.

2016-06-01

he pure rotational spectra of the n = 5, 6, 7, and 8 members of the 1-fluoroalkane family have been recorded between 7 GHz and 14 GHz using chirped pulse Fourier transform microwave spectroscopy. The spectra have been analyzed and results will be presented and compared with previous work on the n= 2, 3, and 4 members. The lowest energy conformer for all family members has the common feature that the fluorine is in a gauche position relative to the alkyl tail for which all other heavy atom dihedral angles, where appropriate, are 180 degrees. For the n = 3 and higher family members the second lowest energy conformer has all heavy atom dihedral angles equal to 180 degrees. For each family member transitions carried by both low energy conformers were observed in the collected rotational spectra. Quantum chemical calculations were performed and trends in the energy separations between these two common conformers will be presented as a function of chain length. Furthermore, longer chain lengths have been examined using only quantum chemical calculations and results will be presented. M. Hayashi, M. Fujitake, T. Inagusa, S. Miyazaki, J.Mol.Struct., 216, 9-26, 1990 W. Caminati, A. C. Fantoni, F. Manescalchi, F. Scappini, Mol.Phys., 64, 1089 ,1988 L. B. Favero, A. Maris, A. Degli Esposti, P. G. Favero, W. Caminati, G. Pawelke, Chem.Eur.J., 6(16), 3018-3025, 2000

Effect of diquafosol tetrasodium eye drop for persistent dry eye after laser in situ keratomileusis.

PubMed

Mori, Yosai; Nejima, Ryohei; Masuda, Ayami; Maruyama, Yoko; Minami, Keiichiro; Miyata, Kazunori; Amano, Shiro

2014-07-01

To evaluate the effect of diquafosol tetrasodium (DQS) for the treatment of persistent dry eye after laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK). Miyata Eye Hospital, Miyazaki, Japan. Noncomparative case series. This prospective study included 30 eyes of 15 patients in whom dry eye had persisted for over 12 months after LASIK, and the symptoms had not improved with artificial tears and sodium hyaluronate treatment. In addition, treatment with DQS 3% eye drops, 6 times a day, was performed for 12 weeks. Best-corrected visual acuity, tear secretion with the Schirmer test, tear break-up time, and fluorescein and lissamine green staining scores on the cornea and conjunctiva were examined before and at 1, 4, and 12 weeks after the addition. A subjective questionnaire of 14 symptoms was also assessed before and 12 weeks after treatment. The fluorescein and lissamine green staining scores significantly improved over 12 weeks; however, the best-corrected visual acuity and tear secretion did not change. The symptoms of fatigue, dryness, grittiness, discomfort, difficulty in reading, and discomfort within the area of dryness improved after the additional DQS treatment. The DQS treatment improved the subjective and objective symptoms of persistent dry eye after LASIK. Increased mucin production because of the addition of DQS probably improved the tear film stability and reduced the symptoms of dry eye in patients who had persistent dry eye after LASIK.

Today's research development on the application of the superconductivity transport system in Japan

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kyotani, Yoshihiro

1995-01-01

At the Miyazaki test track today, the new test vehicle, MLU002N, is under test run to obtain necessary data for Yamanashi test track where the construction is underway, the test vehicle has been ordered and the first tunnel was completed in December 1993. Superconducting magnetohydrodynamic drive ship, MHDS, 'Yamato 1' has completed its experiment in 1992 and it is now under preparation to exhibit to the public in___1994. Furthermore, to promote the research development of MHDS, the detailed discussion is underway on the magnetohydrodynamic drive equipment as well as the research on the future scheme. Neither an automobile nor railway but a new transport system called EQUOS LIM CAR(ELC) has been proposed. By using the rotating magnetic field, it will levitate on the aluminum like reaction plate. On the normal road, it will run by rolling the wheels like an electric car but on the highway, it will levitate on the guideway resulting to less noise, less vibration and pollution free drive. To understand the concept of the ELC, the model was built and experimented by using permanent magnet. The same model was donated to the MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY in Chicago and was displayed to the public. Today, the trial superconducting magnet has been made and the research development of the subsystem is underway. Research development of superconducting elevator, equipment for the launching of spaceship, tube transportation system and others are in progress for the superconducting applied transportation system.

Late season commercial mosquito trap and host seeking activity evaluation against mosquitoes in a malarious area of the Republic of Korea

PubMed Central

Burkett, Douglas A.; Lee, Kwan-Woo; Kim, Heung-Chul; Lee, Hee-Il; Lee, Jong-Soo; Shin, E-Hyun; Wirtz, Robert A.; Cho, Hae-Wol; Claborn, David M.; Coleman, Russel E.; Kim, Wan Y; Klein, Terry A.

2002-01-01

Field trials evaluating selected commercially available mosquito traps variously baited with light, carbon dioxide, and/or octenol were conducted from 18-27 September 2000 in a malarious area near Paekyeon-ri (Tongil-Chon ) and Camp Greaves in Paju County, Kyonggi Province, Republic of Korea. The host-seeking activity for common mosquito species, including the primary vector of Japanese encephalitis, Culex tritaeniorhynchus Giles, was determined using hourly aspirator collections from a human and propane lantern-baited Shannon trap during hours when temperatures exceeded 15℃. The total number of mosquitoes and number of each species captured during the test was compared using a block design. Significant differences were observed for the total number of mosquitoes collected, such that, the Mosquito MagnetTM with octenol > Shannon trap > ABC light trap with light and dry ice > Miniature Black Light trap (manufactured by John W. Hock) ≥ New Jersey Trap > ABC light trap with light only. Significant differences in numbers collected among traps were noted for several species including: Aedes vexans (Meigen), Anopheles lesteri Baisas and Hu, An. sinensis Weidemann, An. sineroides Yamada, An. yatsushiroensis Miyazaki, Culex pipiens pallens Coquillett L., Cx. orientalis Edwards and Cx. tritaeniorhynchus. Host-seeking activity for most common species showed a similar bimodal pattern. Results from these field trap evaluations can significantly enhance current vector and disease surveillance efforts especially for the primary vector of Japanese encephalitis, Cx. tritaeniorhynchus. PMID:11949213

Detection of early postseismic deformation from high-rate GNSS time series

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Twardzik, C.; Vergnolle, M.; Avallone, A.; Sladen, A.

2017-12-01

Postseismic processes after an earthquake contribute to the redistribution of stresses in addition to that induced by the coseismic rupture. With the exception of very few studies (e.g., Miyazaki and Larson, 2008), most postseismic analyses only start one or two days following the mainshock. This leaves a critical part of postseismic phase unexplored, from a few minutes up to a few hours after the earthquake. In this study, we use kinematic precise point positioning (K-PPP) to analyze continuous GNSS data in order to obtain 30s position time series. These time series provide information on the surface displacements a soon as the dynamic response of the earthquake is over. Our first analysis focuses on the 2016 Pedernales, Ecuador, earthquake (Mw7.8). Using spectral analysis, we show that the typical logarithmic postseismic displacement trend can be detected as early as one to six hours after the earthquake depending on the station location and the level of noise. This analysis also allows to estimate the bias on the coseismic offsets usually based on daily pre- and post- earthquake positions. We use the early postseismic time series to test whether rate-and-state friction laws, traditionally used to explain postseismic processes days after the earthquake, still hold right after the mainshock. This study is being extended to two other subduction earthquakes: the 2010 Maule, Chile, earthquake (Mw8.8) and the 2015 Illapel, Chile, earthquake (Mw8.2).

Computational study of the electronic structure and magnetic properties of the Ni-C state in [NiFe] hydrogenases including the second coordination sphere.

PubMed

Kampa, Mario; Lubitz, Wolfgang; van Gastel, Maurice; Neese, Frank

2012-12-01

[NiFe] hydrogenases catalyze the reversible formation of H(2). The [NiFe] heterobimetallic active site is rich in redox states. Here, we investigate the key catalytic state Ni-C of Desulfovibrio vulgaris Miyazaki F hydrogenase using a cluster model that includes the truncated amino acids of the entire second coordination sphere of the enzyme. The optimized geometries, computed g tensors, hyperfine coupling constants, and IR stretching frequencies all agree well with experimental values. For the hydride in the bridging position, only a single minimum on the potential energy surface is found, indicating that the hydride bridges and binds to both nickel and iron. The influence of the second coordination sphere on the electronic structure is investigated by comparing results from the large cluster models with truncated models. The largest interactions of the second coordination sphere with the active site concern the hydrogen bonds with the cyanide ligands, which modulate the bond between iron and these ligands. Secondly, the electronic structure of the active site is found to be sensitive to the protonation state of His88. This residue forms a hydrogen bond with the spin-carrying sulfur atom of Cys549, which in turn tunes the spin density at the nickel and coordinating sulfur atoms. In addition, the unequal distribution of spin density over the equatorial cysteine residues results from different orientations of the cysteine side chains, which are kept in their particular orientation by the secondary structure of the protein.

Cotton rats (Sigmodon hispidus) possess pharyngeal pouch remnants originating from different primordia.

PubMed

Nakamura, Teppei; Ichii, Osamu; Irie, Takao; Mizoguchi, Tatsuya; Shinohara, Akio; Kouguchi, Hirokazu; Sunden, Yuji; Otsuka-Kanazawa, Saori; Ali Elewa, Yaser Hosny; Koshimoto, Chihiro; Nagasaki, Ken-Ichi; Kon, Yasuhiro

2018-06-01

Pharyngeal pouches in mammals develop into specific derivatives. If the differentiation of the pharyngeal pouches is anomalous, their remnants can result in cysts, sinuses, and fistulae in the differentiated organs or around the neck. In the present study, we found several pharyngeal pouch remnants, such as cystic structures in thymus and parathyroid gland and fossulae extended from the piriform fossa, in the inbred cotton rats maintained at Hokkaido Institute of Public Health (HIS/Hiph) and University of Miyazaki (HIS/Mz). In HIS/Hiph, the fossulae extended from the apex of the piriform fossa into the thyroid glands and were lined with stratified squamous and cuboidal epithelium. Calcitonin-positive C-cells were present within their epithelium in HIS/Hiph. In contrast, the fossulae of HIS/Mz ran outside the thyroid glands toward the parathyroid glands; they were lined with columnar ciliated epithelium and a few goblet cells, but had no C-cells, which was consistent with the cystic structures in the thymus and the parathyroid gland. These results indicated that the fossulae were a remnant of the ultimobranchial body in HIS/Hiph and of the thymopharyngeal duct in HIS/Mz. Thus, the fossulae of the piriform fossa resembled the piriform sinus fistula in human. In conclusion, cotton rats frequently possessed pharyngeal pouch remnants, including the piriform sinus fistula, and therefore, might serve as a novel model to elucidate the mechanisms of pharyngeal pouch development.

Today`s research development on the application of the superconductivity transport system in Japan

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kyotani, Y.

1995-04-01

At the Miyazaki test track today, the new test vehicle, MLU002N, is under test run to obtain necessary data for Yamanashi test track where the construction is underway, the test vehicle has been ordered and the first tunnel was completed in December 1993. Superconducting magnetohydrodynamic drive ship, MHDS, `Yamato 1` has completed its experiment in 1992 and it is now under preparation to exhibit to the public in 1994. Furthermore, to promote the research development of MHDS, the detailed discussion is underway on the magnetohydrodynamic drive equipment as well as the research on the future scheme. Neither an automobile normore » railway but a new transport system called EQUOS LIM CAR(ELC) has been proposed. By using the rotating magnetic field, it will levitate on the aluminum like reaction plate. On the normal road, it will run by rolling the wheels like an electric car but on the highway, it will levitate on the guideway resulting to less noise, less vibration and pollution free drive. To understand the concept of the ELC, the model was built and experimented by using permanent magnet. The same model was donated to the MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY in Chicago and was displayed to the public. Today, the trial superconducting magnet has been made and the research development of the subsystem is underway. Research development of superconducting elevator, equipment for the launching of spaceship, tube transportation system and others are in progress for the superconducting applied transportation system.« less

The neurofilament middle molecular mass subunit carboxyl-terminal tail domains is essential for the radial growth and cytoskeletal architecture of axons but not for regulating neurofilament transport rate

PubMed Central

Rao, Mala V.; Campbell, Jabbar; Yuan, Aidong; Kumar, Asok; Gotow, Takahiro; Uchiyama, Yasuo; Nixon, Ralph A.

2003-01-01

The phosphorylated carboxyl-terminal “tail” domains of the neurofilament (NF) subunits, NF heavy (NF-H) and NF medium (NF-M) subunits, have been proposed to regulate axon radial growth, neurofilament spacing, and neurofilament transport rate, but direct in vivo evidence is lacking. Because deletion of the tail domain of NF-H did not alter these axonal properties (Rao, M.V., M.L. Garcia, Y. Miyazaki, T. Gotow, A. Yuan, S. Mattina, C.M. Ward, N.S. Calcutt, Y. Uchiyama, R.A. Nixon, and D.W. Cleveland. 2002. J. Cell Biol. 158:681–693), we investigated possible functions of the NF-M tail domain by constructing NF-M tail–deleted (NF-MtailΔ) mutant mice using an embryonic stem cell–mediated “gene knockin” approach that preserves normal ratios of the three neurofilament subunits. Mutant NF-MtailΔ mice exhibited severely inhibited radial growth of both motor and sensory axons. Caliber reduction was accompanied by reduced spacing between neurofilaments and loss of long cross-bridges with no change in neurofilament protein content. These observations define distinctive functions of the NF-M tail in regulating axon caliber by modulating the organization of the neurofilament network within axons. Surprisingly, the average rate of axonal transport of neurofilaments was unaltered despite these substantial effects on axon morphology. These results demonstrate that NF-M tail–mediated interactions of neurofilaments, independent of NF transport rate, are critical determinants of the size and cytoskeletal architecture of axons, and are mediated, in part, by the highly phosphorylated tail domain of NF-M. PMID:14662746

Age-dependent trigeminal and female-specific lumbosacral increase in herpes zoster distribution in the elderly.

PubMed

Shiraki, Kimiyasu; Toyama, Nozomu; Shiraki, Atsuko; Yajima, Misako

2018-05-01

Varicella-zoster virus causes herpes zoster (HZ) along specific dermatomes, but the effects of age and sex on HZ distribution are unclear. We investigated the age- and sex-dependent distribution characteristics of HZ. Patients with HZ were monitored by members of the Miyazaki Dermatologist Society. Questionnaires containing information on age, sex, and dermatome distribution and lesion specimens from 2730 patients were collected, and 2508 PCR-diagnosed cases were analyzed. The ratio of lesions in the thoracic area to lesions in the whole body decreased with age, whereas those of other areas increased. HZ incidence increased with age to about four times that of the basic incidence in the dermatome areas at age 0-29 years; the incidence in the trigeminal area in both sexes increased 11-fold, and the incidence in the thoracic and lumbosacral areas increased in females more than in males. Furthermore, the fact that the highest incidence was found along the first branch of the trigeminal nerve suggests an association with long-term ultraviolet ray exposure. Segmental dermatomes comprising thoracic 10-lumbar 1/sacral 2-4 and thoracic 5-6 were significantly more frequently affected in female patients at age 50-59 years and are consistent with areas of obstetric anesthesia for childbirth and of breastfeeding, respectively. HZ incidence increased with age; moreover, exposure to ultraviolet rays, childbirth, and breastfeeding might increase the incidence at specific dermatomes in older individuals. This study provides important information on the etiology of HZ. Copyright © 2018 Japanese Society for Investigative Dermatology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Design and development of an international clinical data exchange system: the international layer function of the Dolphin Project

PubMed Central

Zhou, Tian-shu; Chu, Jian; Araki, Kenji; Yoshihara, Hiroyuki

2011-01-01

Objective At present, most clinical data are exchanged between organizations within a regional system. However, people traveling abroad may need to visit a hospital, which would make international exchange of clinical data very useful. Background Since 2007, a collaborative effort to achieve clinical data sharing has been carried out at Zhejiang University in China and Kyoto University and Miyazaki University in Japan; each is running a regional clinical information center. Methods An international layer system named Global Dolphin was constructed with several key services, sharing patients' health information between countries using a medical markup language (MML). The system was piloted with 39 test patients. Results The three regions above have records for 966 000 unique patients, which are available through Global Dolphin. Data exchanged successfully from Japan to China for the 39 study patients include 1001 MML files and 152 images. The MML files contained 197 free text-type paragraphs that needed human translation. Discussion The pilot test in Global Dolphin demonstrates that patient information can be shared across countries through international health data exchange. To achieve cross-border sharing of clinical data, some key issues had to be addressed: establishment of a super directory service across countries; data transformation; and unique one—language translation. Privacy protection was also taken into account. The system is now ready for live use. Conclusion The project demonstrates a means of achieving worldwide accessibility of medical data, by which the integrity and continuity of patients' health information can be maintained. PMID:21571747

Where are we after 60 years of paragonimiasis research? A bibliometric assessment.

PubMed

Culquichicón, Carlos; Hernández-Pacherres, Arturo; Labán-Seminario, L Max; Cardona-Ospina, Jaime A; Rodríguez-Morales, Alfonso J

2017-06-01

Paragonimiasis is highly prevalent endemic food-borne disease in Southeast Asia and Latin America, and constitutes a major public health concern. A bibliometric analysis was performed about the worldwide scientific production of paragonimiasis. We browsed in the Science Citation Index-Expanded (SCI-E) (1957-2015), Scopus (1976-2015), Medline/PubMed/GoPubMed® (1970-2015), ScIELO (1981-2014) and LILACS (1985-2011). All types of articles were included and categorized by year of publication, number, type of scientific article, city and institution of origin, international cooperation, scientific journal, impact factor, language of publication, authors and H index. In SCI-E, 1,028 manuscripts were recovered, while Japan (21.9%) and the USA (17.7%) were the countries with highest scientific production. In this database, Asian region studies received 5,454 citations (H index=32). In Scopus 2161 items were recovered, corresponding to 45.8% of Asian countries. Japan (18.2%) was the first with the University of Miyazaki (11.7% of the country); South Korea (9.5%) was second with the Seoul National University (11.2% of the country). In SciELO 29 items were found, with no contributions from the Asian region. In LILACS 1487 articles were found (22.9% covering Asia). Among the databases, the Journal of Parasitology (Impact factor=1.227) showed the highest number of manuscripts and "Agatsuma T", from Japan, was the author with most records. Japan and South Korea lead global scientific production on paragonimiasis. By contrast, in Latin America, production has been extremely low especially in the last five years.

Monitoring of solar-UV exposure among schoolchildren in five Japanese cities using spore dosimeter and UV-coloring labels.

PubMed

Munakata, N; Ono, M; Watanabe, S

1998-03-01

To monitor personal exposure to biologically effective solar-UV radiation, Bacillus subtilis spores on a membrane filter and UV-coloring labels were incorporated into a monitoring badge. The samples were covered with one of three types of filter sheet, dependent on the season, to reduce the amounts of exposure to measurable levels. Five fifth- or sixth-grade classes of primary schools, each consisting of 30-40 children, were chosen in northern (Sapporo), central (Tsukuba and Tokyo), and southern (Miyazaki and Naha) cities in Japan. In all four season, each child wore a badge on an upper arm for the entire waking hours, changing it daily, for a week. Upon collection of the badges, the survival of spores and the extent of coloration of the label were determined. The results were used to estimate the amount of daily exposure to biologically effective UV radiation, expressed as the value of spore inactivation dose. Unexpectedly, the average amounts of exposure were not directly correlated with the outdoor UV irradiance: in the two southern cities, despite high outdoor irradiance from spring to autumn, the average amounts of exposure were less than 3.1% of the average irradiance. Highly concentrated exposures occurred in two central cities on three days when extensive outdoor exercise took place. These results contradict the simple notion that children's exposure is in proportion to the outdoor UV irradiance, and support the view that the extent of solar-UV exposure is primarily determined by life-style rather than living location.

Monitoring of Solar‐UV Exposure among Schoolchildren in Five Japanese Cities Using Spore Dosimeter and UV‐coloring Labels

PubMed Central

Ono, Masashi; Watanabe, Shaw

1998-01-01

To monitor personal exposure to biologically effective solar‐UV radiation, Bacillus subtilis spores on a membrane filter and UV‐coloring labels were incorporated into a monitoring badge. The samples were covered with one of three types of filter sheet, dependent on the season, to reduce the amounts of exposure to measurable levels. Five fifth‐ or sixth‐grade classes of primary schools, each consisting of 30–40 children, were chosen in northern (Sapporo), central (Tsukuba and Tokyo), and southern (Miyazaki and Naha) cities in Japan. In all four seasons, each child wore a badge on an upper arm for the entire waking hours, changing it daily, for a week. Upon collection of the badges, the survival of spores and the extent of coloration of the label were determined. The results were used to estimate the amount of daily exposure to biologically effective UV radiation, expressed as the value of spore inactivation dose. Unexpectedly, the average amounts of exposure were not directly correlated with the outdoor UV irradiance: in the two southern cities, despite high outdoor irradiance from spring to autumn, the average amounts of exposure were less than 3.1% of the average irradiance. Highly concentrated exposures occurred in two central cities on three days when extensive outdoor exercise took place. These results contradict the simple notion that childrens' exposure is in proportion to the outdoor UV irradiance, and support the view that the extent of solar‐UV exposure is primarily determined by life‐style rather than living location. PMID:9600116

Serologic assessment of type 1 and type 2 immunity in healthy Japanese adults.

PubMed

Birmann, Brenda M; Mueller, Nancy; Okayama, Akihiko; Hsieh, Chung-Cheng; Tachibana, Nobuyoshi; Tsubouchi, Hirohito; Lennette, Evelyne T; Harn, Donald; Stuver, Sherri

2004-08-01

We assessed the informativeness of several serologic biomarkers of immune function using serum specimens collected in the Miyazaki Cohort Study from subjects who were seronegative for anti-human T-cell lymphotrophic virus I and anti-hepatitis C virus. To broadly characterize type 1 immune status, we measured EBV antibody titers, because titer profiles associated with cellular immune suppression are well described. We also tested for three type 2 biomarkers: total serum IgE, soluble CD23, and soluble CD30. Nonreactivity to a tuberculin purified protein derivative (PPD) skin test is indicative of diminished delayed-type hypersensitivity (type 1) responsiveness in the study population due to a history of tuberculosis exposure or Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccination. We therefore evaluated the serologic markers as predictors of PPD nonreactivity using logistic regression. Subjects whose EBV antibody profiles were consistent with deficient type 1 immunity were more than thrice as likely to be PPD nonreactive as persons with "normal" antibody titers. Elevated total IgE was also strongly associated with PPD nonreactivity (odds ratio 3.4, 95% confidence interval 1.2-9.9); elevated soluble CD23 had a weaker, but positive, odds ratio, whereas soluble CD30 levels were not predictive of PPD status. Therefore, PPD nonreactivity is associated, in this population, with a pattern of serum biomarkers that is indicative of diminished type 1 and elevated type 2 immunity. We conclude that, with the exception of soluble CD30, the serologic markers are informative for the characterization of type 1/type 2 immune status using archived sera from study populations of healthy adults.

Was Miyakejima undergoing subsidence before the 2000 caldera collapse? JERS1 InSAR results: 1992-1998

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Furuya, M.

2003-12-01

Miyakejima volcano is a basaltic strato volcano island on the eastern edge of the Philippine Sea Plate, and was undergoing a number of eruption activities over the past centuries. In July-August 2000, the Miyakejima volcano underwent a caldera collapse, prompting many modern geodetic and geophysical measurements (e.g., Geshi et al. 2002; Furuya et al. 2003). The observation results on the pre-caldera-collapse stages are, however, limitted. Were there any precursory secular subsidence before the collapse? Though Miyazaki (1990) reported a secular subsidence at the Miyakejima, using leveling technique, there are no documented reports, to my knowledge, which employed radar interferometry to examine the ground displacements at Miyakejima. Here I will report on the results derived from the radar interferometry at Miyakejima volcano. I chose JERS-1 data (L-band HH) for the analysis, so that I could get rid of the loss of coherence; most of the Miyakejima is covered with vegetation. To remove the topographic fringes as well as to re-estimate the spatial baseline data (Rosen et al. 1996), I employed 10-meter resolution digital elevation map derived by Geographical Survey Institute, Japan. I could generate 24 differential interferograms at the time of writing this text. However, I do not yet recognize any significant "signals" that can be discriminated with the atmospheric "noise". There appears to be no specific subsidence pattern, which are detected in a number of other volcanos in the world (e.g., Lu et al. 2002; Yarai et al. 2002; Okuyama et al. 2002). I am going to show a stacked interferogram like that in Fujiwara et al. (1998) and to examine the existence of volcanic signals.

The effect of garden designs on mood and heart output in older adults residing in an assisted living facility.

PubMed

Goto, Seiko; Park, Bum-Jin; Tsunetsugu, Yuko; Herrup, Karl; Miyazaki, Yoshifumi

2013-01-01

The objective of this study is to trace short-term changes in mood and heart function in elderly individuals in response to exposure to different landscaped spaces. Nineteen elderly but cognitively intact residents of an assisted living facility participated in the study. They were exposed to three landscaped spaces: a Japanese style garden, an herb garden, and a simple landscaped area planted with a single tree. To assess the effect of different landscaped spaces on older adults, individuals were monitored for mood and cardiac function in response to short exposures to spaces. Mood state was assessed using Profile of Mood States (POMS) before and after viewing the spaces. Cardiac output was assessed using a portable electrocardiograph monitor before and during the viewing. We found that the structured gardens evoked greater responses in all outcome measures. Scores on the POMS improved after observation of the two organized gardens compared to responses to the simple landscaped space with a single tree. During the observation period, heart rate was significantly lower in the Japanese garden than in the other environments, and sympathetic function was significantly lower as well. We conclude that exposure to organized gardens can affect both the mood and cardiac physiology of elderly individuals. Our data further suggest that these effects can differ depending on the types of landscape to which an individual is exposed. Elderly, Japanese garden, herb garden, heart rate, mood, healing environmentPreferred Citation: Goto, S., Park, B-J., Tsunetsugu, Y., Herrup, K., & Miyazaki, Y. (2013). The effect of garden designs on mood and heart output in older adults residing in an assisted living facility. Health Environments Research & Design Journal 6(2), pp 27-42.

Where are we after 60 years of paragonimiasis research? A bibliometric assessment

PubMed Central

Culquichicón, Carlos; Hernández-Pacherres, Arturo; Labán-Seminario, L. Max; Cardona-Ospina, Jaime A.; Rodríguez-Morales, Alfonso J.

2018-01-01

SUMMARY Paragonimiasis is highly prevalent endemic foodborne disease in Southeast Asia and Latin America, and constitutes a major public health concern. A bibliometric analysis was performed about the worldwide scientific production of paragonimiasis. We browsed in the Science Citation Index-Expanded (SCI-E) (1957–2015), Scopus (1976–2015), Medline/PubMed/GoPubMed® (1970–2015), ScIELO (1981–2014) and LILACS (1985- 2011). All types of articles were included and categorized by year of publication, number, type of scientific article, city and institution of origin, international cooperation, scientific journal, impact factor, language of publication, authors and H index. In SCI-E, 1,028 manuscripts were recovered, while Japan (21.9%) and the USA (17.7%) were the countries with highest scientific production. In this database, Asian region studies received 5,454 citations (H index=32). In Scopus 2161 items were recovered, corresponding to 45.8% of Asian countries. Japan (18.2%) was the first with the University of Miyazaki (11.7% of the country); South Korea (9.5%) was second with the Seoul National University (11.2% of the country). In SciELO 29 items were found, with no contributions from the Asian region. In LILACS 1487 articles were found (22.9% covering Asia). Among the databases, the Journal of Parasitology (Impact factor=1.227) showed the highest number of manuscripts and “Agatsuma T”, from Japan, was the author with most records. Japan and South Korea lead global scientific production on paragonimiasis. By contrast, in Latin America, production has been extremely low especially in the last five years. PMID:28603233

Variability of back carbon in Northwest Greenland during the past 350 years

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goto-Azuma, Kumiko; Ogawa-Tsukagawa, Yoshimi; Kondo, Yutaka; Dallmayr, Remi; Hirabayashi, Motohiro; Ogata, Jun; Kitamura, Kyotaro; Kawamura, Kenji; Motoyama, Hideaki; Matoba, Sumito; Aoki, Teruo; Moteki, Nobuhiro; Ohata, Sho; Mori, Tatsuhiro; Koike, Makoto; Komuro, Yuki; Tsushima, Akane; Nagatsuka, Naoko

2017-04-01

An ice core to the depth of 225 m was drilled at the SIGMA-D site, Northwest Greenland, in 2014 under the SIGMA (Snow Impurity and Glacial Microbe Effects on Abrupt Warming in the Arctic) project (Matoba et al., 2015). The ice core was analyzed to the depth of 113 m with a Continuous Flow Analysis (CFA) system, which was recently built at the National Institute of Polar Research, Japan. The CFA system allowed high resolution analyses of black carbon (BC), stable isotopes of water, microparticles, electric conductivity, and trace elements (Na, K, Mg, Ca, Fe, and Al). BC was analyzed with a Wide Range SP2, which was recently developed by University of Tokyo (Mori et al., 2016). The Wide Range SP2 enabled us to measure BC particles with the size range between 40 and 4000 nm. Here we report the variability of BC concentrations and size distributions during the past 350 years. Anthropogenic impacts on concentrations, size distributions, and their seasonal variations were clearly seen during the first half of the 20th Century. References Matoba, S., H. Motoyama, K. Fujita. T. Yamasaki, M. Minowa, Y. Onuma Y. Komuro, T. Aoki, S. Yamaguchi, S. Sugiyama and H. Enomoto, Glaciological and meteorological observations at the SIGMA-D site, northwestern Greenland Ice Sheet. Bulletin of Glaciological Research 33, 7-10, 2015. Mori, T., N. Moteki, S. Ohata, M. Koike, K. Goto-Azuma, Y. Miyazaki and Y. Kondo, Improved technique for measuring the size distribution of black carbon particles in liquid water, Aerosol Science & Technology, 50, 3, 242-254, DOI: 10.1080/02786826.2016.1147644, 2016.

Transient formation fluid pressures and temperatures in the Costa Rica forearc prism and subducting oceanic basement: CORK monitoring at ODP Sites 1253 and 1255

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davis, Earl E.; Villinger, Heinrich W.

2006-05-01

decollement and overlying prism are observed to be superhydrostatic, although not highly so during this phase of observation. Pressures (expressed as the pore pressure ratio) range from λ* ≈ 0.25 at the decollement early in the monitoring period to ≈ 0.1 in the overlying prism at the end of the monitoring period. The cause of the initially elevated pressures is not known. If generated by contractional strain, elevated pressures appear not to be maintained for long periods of time at these lithologic/structural levels. The cause of the decline in pressure is also not known; it may be the consequence of strain relaxation or hydrologic drainage. No observations were made in the underthrust sediments, where greater hydrologic isolation may allow higher average pressures and transient pressures of greater amplitude and persistence. Two minor transients were observed at the decollement- and prism-monitoring levels that correlate with deformational events that occurred during a GPS monitoring experiment on the Nicoya Peninsula. One of these is inferred by Protti et al. [M. Protti, T. Gonzalez, T. Kato, T. Iinuma, S. Miyazaki, K. Obana, Y. Kaneda, P. LaFemina, T. Dixon, S. Schwartz, A creep event on the shallow interface of the Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica seismogenic zone, EOS, Trans. Am. Geophys. Union, Fall Meeting Program with Abstracts, 85 (2004) F1378; M. Protti, P. LaFemina, V. Gonzalez, T.H. Dixon, S.Y. Schwartz, T. Kato, T. Iinuma, S. Miyazaki, K. Obana, Y. Kaneda, A possible slow slip event within the seismogenic zone, Nicoya peninsula, Costa Rica, Geophys. Res. Lett. (submitted for publication)] to have propagated some 60 km to the northeast across the peninsula over the course of 2-3 weeks. The pressure transients at the ODP drill sites, located roughly 60 km offshore, began on May 24 and October 12, 2003, also 2-3 weeks after the initiation of the GPS-recorded Nicoya strain events at the coast. Propagation of dislocations updip (offshore) as well as downdip along

Intrapartum fetal heart rate patterns preceding terminal bradycardia in infants (>34 weeks) with poor neurological outcome: A regional population-based study in Japan.

PubMed

Kodama, Yuki; Sameshima, Hiroshi; Yamashita, Rie; Oohashi, Masanao; Ikenoue, Tsuyomu

2015-11-01

Intrapartum fetal bradycardia necessitates immediate operative delivery. Our aim was to investigate the hypothesis that some non-reassuring fetal heart rate (FHR) patterns were present before the onset of terminal bradycardia in infants who developed subsequent brain damage. From a population-based study of 65,197 deliveries, 190 stillbirths, 115 neonatal deaths, and 136 neurologically high-risk infants were registered by the Miyazaki Perinatal Conference. There were 15 cases of neurologically high-risk infants born at >34 weeks of gestation exhibiting intrapartum terminal bradycardia. Focusing on the brain-damaged infants, we retrospectively analyzed FHR patterns for at least 1 h prior to the bradycardia. Brain damage (cerebral palsy [n = 11] and mental retardation [n = 2]) was diagnosed at 2 years old in 13 out of 15 neurologically high-risk infants. Two infants had bradycardia on admission. In the remaining 11 infants, FHR patterns were reassuring in six (55%) and non-reassuring in five (45%), including late decelerations (n = 4) and variable decelerations (n = 2). Clinically relevant factors in the non-reassuring group included intrauterine infection (n = 3), malpresentation with umbilical cord coiling (n = 1), and unknown causes (n = 1). Clinically relevant features in the reassuring group included cord prolapse (n = 1), vaginal breech delivery (n = 1), shoulder dystocia (n = 1), rupture of membranes (n = 1), and unknown causes (n = 2). More than half of the brain-damaged infants born at >34 weeks of gestation who exhibited intrapartum terminal bradycardia had unremarkable FHR patterns before abrupt-onset bradycardia. For those with non-reassuring patterns preceding bradycardia, intrauterine infection was the major sentinel event. © 2015 Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Sulfur isotopic constraints from a single enzyme on the cellular to global sulfur cycles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sim, M. S.; Adkins, J. F.; Sessions, A. L.; Orphan, V. J.; McGlynn, S.

2017-12-01

Since first reported more than a half century ago, sulfur isotope fractionation between sulfate and sulfide has been used as a diagnostic indicator of microbial sulfate reduction, giving added dimensions to the microbial ecological and geochemical studies of the sulfur cycle. A wide range of fractionation has attracted particular attention because it may serve as a potential indicator of environmental or physiological variables such as substrate concentrations or specific respiration rates. In theory, the magnitude of isotope fractionation depends upon the sulfur isotope effect imparted by the involved enzymes and the relative rate of each enzymatic reaction. The former defines the possible range of fractionation quantitatively, while the latter responds to environmental stimuli, providing an underlying rationale for the varying fractionations. The experimental efforts so far have concentrated largely on the latter, the factors affecting the size of fractionation. Recently, however, the direct assessment of intracellular processes emerges as a promising means for the quantitative analysis of microbial sulfur isotope fractionation as a function of environmental or physiological variables. Here, we experimentally determined for the first time the sulfur isotope fractionation during APS reduction, the first reductive step in the dissimilatory sulfate reduction pathway, using the enzyme purified from Desulfovibrio vulgaris Miyazaki. APS reductase carried out the one-step, two-electron reduction of APS to sulfite, without the production of other metabolic intermediates. Nearly identical isotope effects were obtained at two different temperatures, while the rate of APS reduction more than quadrupled with a temperature increase from 20 to 32°C. When placed in context of the linear network model for microbial sulfur isotope fractionation, our finding could provide a new, semi-quantitative constraint on the sulfur cycle at levels from cellular to global.

Risk factors for stillbirth and dystocia in Japanese Black cattle.

PubMed

Uematsu, Mizuho; Sasaki, Yosuke; Kitahara, Go; Sameshima, Hiroshi; Osawa, Takeshi

2013-10-01

Stillbirth and dystocia are major factors reducing the productivity of beef cattle. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of season, parity and gestation length on the rates of stillbirth and dystocia in Japanese Black cattle. Calving records were obtained from 905 farms in Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan. Data were collected from 41,116 calvings in 15,378 (14.42% primiparous). There were 1013 stillbirths (2.46%) and 3514 dystocias (8.55%). The stillbirth rate in winter (December to February) (3.18%) was higher (odds ratio (OR) [95% confidence interval]: 1.008 [1.004-1.012]) than that in summer (June to August). Similarly, the dystocia rates in winter (OR: 1.011 [1.004-1.019]) and spring (March to May) (OR: 1.020 [1.013-1.027]) were significantly higher than in summer. For primiparous cows, the rates of stillbirth (OR: 1.010 [1.004-1.015]) and dystocia (OR: 1.053 [1.042-1.064]) were higher than in cows with fifth parity (reference parity). Stillbirth rates were higher in cows at ≥ 301 days of pregnancy (OR: 1.049 [1.035-1.062]) and those at ≤ 270 days of pregnancy (OR: 2.072 [2.044-2.101]) than those at between 281 and 290 days of pregnancy. Likewise, dystocia rates were higher in cows at ≥ 301 days of pregnancy (OR: 1.033 [1.008-1.059]) and those at ≤ 270 days of pregnancy (OR: 1.124 [1.095-1.154]) than those at between 281 and 290 days of pregnancy. Winter, primiparity, and long and short gestation lengths were risk factors for stillbirth and dystocia in this cohort of Japanese Black cattle. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Time-dependent inversions of slow slip at the Hikurangi subduction zone, New Zealand, using numerical Green's functions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Williams, C. A.; Wallace, L. M.; Bartlow, N. M.

2017-12-01

Slow slip events (SSEs) have been observed throughout the world, and the existence of these events has fundamentally altered our understanding of the possible ranges of slip behavior at subduction plate boundaries. In New Zealand, SSEs occur along the Hikurangi Margin, with shallower events in the north and deeper events to the south. In a recent study, Williams and Wallace (2015) found that static SSE inversions that consider elastic property variations provided significantly different results than those based on an elastic half-space. For deeper events, the heterogeneous models predicted smaller amounts of slip, while for shallower events the heterogeneous model predicted larger amounts of slip. In this study, we extend our initial work to examine the temporal variations in slip. We generate Green's functions using the PyLith finite element code (Aagaard et al., 2013) to allow consideration of elastic property variations provided by the New Zealand-wide seismic velocity model (Eberhart-Phillips et al., 2010). These Green's functions are then integrated to provide Green's functions compatible with the Network Inversion Filter (NIF, Segall and Matthews,1997; McGuire and Segall, 2003; Miyazaki et al.,2006). We examine 12 SSEs occurring along the Hikurangi Margin during 2010 and 2011, and compare the results using heterogeneous Green's functions with those of Bartlow et al. (2014), who examined the same set of SSEs with the NIF using a uniform elastic half-space model. The use of heterogeneous Green's functions should provide a more accurate picture of the slip distribution and evolution of the SSEs. This will aid in understanding the correlations between SSEs and seismicity and/or tremor and the role of SSEs in the accommodation of plate motion budgets in New Zealand.

Population differences in immune marker profiles associated with human T-lymphotropic virus type I infection in Japan and Jamaica.

PubMed

Birmann, Brenda M; Breen, Elizabeth C; Stuver, Sherri; Cranston, Beverly; Martínez-Maza, Otoniel; Falk, Kerstin I; Okayama, Akihiko; Hanchard, Barrie; Mueller, Nancy; Hisada, Michie

2009-02-01

The natural history of human T-lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) has been shown to differ markedly by geographic area. The differences include contrasting patterns of risk of adult T-cell lymphoma (ATL) and HTLV-I-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP), which may be due in part to differences in host immune response to infection. To characterize variations in host immunity across populations, we compared serologic immune marker patterns in HTLV-I-endemic populations in Japan and Jamaica. We matched 204 participants with archived blood from the Miyazaki Cohort Study (Japan) and the Food Handlers Study (Jamaica)-i.e., 51 HTLV-I-positive ("carriers") and 51 HTLV-I-negative individuals ("noncarriers") from each population-by age, sex and blood collection year. We compared plasma concentrations of markers of T-cell-mediated (antigen-specific) and nonspecific immunity using regression models and correlation coefficients. Compared to Jamaican HTLV-I noncarriers, Japanese noncarriers had higher covariate-adjusted mean levels of T-cell activation markers, including antibody to Epstein-Barr virus nuclear antigen-1 (reciprocal titer 27 vs. 71, respectively, p=0.005), soluble interleukin-2 receptor-alpha (477 vs. 623 pg/mL, p=0.0008) and soluble CD30 (34 vs. 46 U/mL, p=0.0001) and lower levels of C-reactive protein (1.1 vs. 0.43 microg/mL, p=0.0004). HTLV-I infection was associated with activated T-cell immunity in Jamaicans but with diminished T-cell immunity in Japanese persons. The observed population differences in background and HTLV-I-related host immunity correspond closely to the divergent natural histories of infection observed among HTLV-I carriers in Japan and Jamaica and corroborate a role for host immune status in the contrasting patterns of ATL and HAM/TSP risk. Copyright (c) 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Two-dimensional thermal modeling associated with subduction of the Philippine Sea plate in southern Kyushu, Japan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suenaga, Nobuaki; Yoshioka, Shoichi; Matsumoto, Takumi; Ji, Yingfeng

2018-01-01

In Hyuga-nada, southern Kyushu in southwest Japan, afterslip events were found in association with the two large interplate earthquakes, which occurred on October 19 and December 3, 1996. In Kyushu, low-frequency earthquakes (LFEs) and tectonic tremors are not common, but a considerable concentration of tectonic tremors is observed beneath the Pacific coast of the Miyazaki prefecture. To investigate the generation mechanisms of these seismic events, we performed 2-D box-type time-dependent thermal modeling in southern Kyushu. As a result, the temperature range of the upper surface of the subducting Philippine Sea (PHS) plate, where the afterslip occurred, reached approximately 300 to 350 °C. The temperatures where the tectonic tremors occurred ranged from 450 to 650 °C in the mantle wedge corner. We also estimated the spatial distribution of water content within the subducting PHS plate, using phase diagrams of hydrous mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) and ultramafic rock. Then, we found that no characteristic phase transformations accompany the dehydration of the subducting PHS plate in the afterslip region, but phase transformation from lawsonite blueschist to lawsonite eclogite is expected within the oceanic crust of the PHS plate just below the active region of the tectonic tremors. Our estimated water content distribution is consistent with the VP/VS ratio calculated from the seismic tomography. Therefore, we conclude that the occurrence of the afterslip is controlled by the temperature condition at the plate boundary, and occurs near the down-dip limit of the seismogenic zone. On the other hand, determining the major factors leading to the occurrence of the tectonic tremors is difficult, we estimated the temperature in the mantle wedge is ranging from 450 °C to 650 °C, and dehydration of 1.0 wt% would be expected from the subducting PHS plate near the active region of the tectonic tremors.

Grain Boundary Sliding in Deforming Wehrlite: Rheology and Microstructure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, N.; Hirth, G.; Cooper, R. F.; Kruckenberg, S. C.

2016-12-01

Elastic anisotropy of Earth's upper mantle used to be attributed exclusively to dislocation creep. However, recent experimental results suggest that crystallographic preferred orientation (CPO) in olivine, which contributes to elastic anisotropy, could also form during grain boundary sliding [e.g., 1-3]. Nevertheless, the fundamental problem of how CPO forms during grain boundary sliding is not fully understood. Our current efforts examine the grain-size-sensitive flow of wehrlite, to characterize the influence of the second phase (clinopyroxene) both on olivine CPO formation as well as the propensity of grain boundary sliding and accumulated strain to effect solid-state phase separation (i.e., metamorphic layering). Creep tests on fine-grain-size (2-5 µm) olivine and clinopyroxene aggregates (T =1100-1200ºC; P = 1.5 GPa; γ=3-7) have been conducted. These reveal strong type-B fabric for olivine. Characterization of effects of grain size, temperature and applied strain rate reveal the grain size dependence, stress exponent and activation energy of the flow kinetics of wehrlite. The stress exponent, which is similar to stress exponent for harzburgite reported by Sundberg & Cooper [1], and grain-size dependence suggest that the dominant deformation mechanism in our experiments may be grain boundary sliding. A large stress drop in early segments of experiments suggest an evolution of microstructure. The Fourier transform of backscatter images demonstrates that there exists a direction of foliation, defined by Ol-Cpx heterophase boundaries, which may be the key to understand the development of CPO formation. [1] Sundberg, M. & Cooper, R. F., J. Geophys. Res., 2008. [2] Miyazaki, T., Sueyoshi, K., and Hiraga, T., Nature, 2013. [3] Tielke, J. A., L. N. Hansen, M. Tasaka, C. Meyers, M. E. Zimmerman, and D. L. Kohlstedt, J. Geophys. Res., 2016.

EDITORIAL: Cluster issue on Heusler compounds and devices Cluster issue on Heusler compounds and devices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Felser, Claudia; Hillebrands, Burkard

2009-04-01

] Sakuraba Y, Hattori M, Oogane M, Ando Y, Kato H, Sakuma A, Miyazaki T and Kubota H 2006 Appl. Phys. Lett. 88 192508 [11] Inomata K, Okamura S, Miyazaki A, Kikuchi M, Tezuka N, Wojcik M and Jedryka E 2006 J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 39 816 [12] Fecher G H and Felser C 2007 J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 40 1582 [13] Tezuka N, Ikeda N, Miyazaki A, Sugimoto S, Kikuchi M and Inomata K 2006 Appl. Phys. Lett. 89 112514 [14] Kallmayer M, Schneider H, Jakob G, Elmers H J, Balke B and Cramm S 2007 J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 40 1552 [15] Cinchetti M, Wüstenberg J P, Sánchez Albaneda M, Steeb F, Conca A, Jourdan M and Aeschlimann M 2007 J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 40 1544 [16] Fecher G H, Balke B, Ouardi S, Felser C, Schonhense G, Ikenaga E, Kim J J, Ueda S and Kobayashi K 2007 J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 40 1576 [17] Chioncel L, Sakuraba Y, Arrigoni E, Katsnelson M I, Oogane M, Ando Y, Miyazaki T, Burzo E and Lichtenstein A I 2008 Phys. Rev. Lett. 100 086402 [18] Hamrle J, Blomeier S, Gaier O, Hillebrands B, Schneider H, Jakob G, Postava K and Felser C 2007 J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 40 1563 [19] Furubayashi T, Kodama K, Sukegawa H, Takahashi Y K, Inomata K and Hono K 2008 Appl. Phys. Lett. 93 122507 [20] Balke B, Fecher G H, Winterlik J and Felser C 2007 Appl. Phys. Lett. 90 152504 [21] Wurmehl S, Kandpal H C, Fecher G H and Felser C 2006 J. Phys.: Cond. Mat. 18 6171 [22] Entel P, Bucheinikov V D, Khovailo V V, Zayak A T, Adeagbo W A, Gruner M E, Herper H C and Wassermann E F 2006 J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 39 865

Detection of p53 mutations in proliferating vascular cells in glioblastoma multiforme.

PubMed

Kawasoe, Takuma; Takeshima, Hideo; Yamashita, Shinji; Mizuguchi, Sohei; Fukushima, Tsuyoshi; Yokogami, Kiyotaka; Yamasaki, Kouji

2015-02-01

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), one of the most aggressive tumors in humans, is highly angiogenic. However, treatment with the angiogenesis inhibitor bevacizumab has not significantly prolonged overall patient survival times. GBM resistance to angiogenesis inhibitors is attributed to multiple interacting mechanisms. Although mesenchymal transition via glioma stem-like cells has attracted attention, it is considered a poor biomarker. There is no simple method for differentiating tumor-derived and reactive vascular cells from normal cells. The authors attempted to detect the mesenchymal transition of tumor cells by means of p53 and isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1) immunohistochemistry. Using antibody against p53 and IDH1 R132H, the authors immunohistochemically analyzed GBM tissue from patients who had undergone surgery at the University of Miyazaki Hospital during August 2005-December 2011. They focused on microvascular proliferation with a p53-positive ratio exceeding 50%. They compared TP53 mutations in original tumor tissues and in p53-positive and p53-negative microvascular proliferation cells collected by laser microdissection. Among 61 enrolled GBM patients, the first screening step (immunostaining) identified 46 GBMs as p53 positive, 3 of which manifested areas of prominent p53-positive microvascular proliferation (>50%). Histologically, areas of p53-positive microvascular proliferation tended to be clustered, and they coexisted with areas of p53-negative microvascular proliferation. Both types of microvascular proliferation cells were clearly separated from original tumor cells by glial fibrillary acidic protein, epidermal growth factor receptor, and low-/high-molecular-weight cytokeratin. DNA sequencing analysis disclosed that p53-positive microvascular proliferation cells exhibited TP53 mutations identical to those observed in the original tumor; p53-negative microvascular proliferation cells contained a normal allele. Although immunostaining indicated

Development and evaluation of a modified brief assertiveness training for nurses in the workplace: a single-group feasibility study.

PubMed

Nakamura, Yohei; Yoshinaga, Naoki; Tanoue, Hiroki; Kato, Sayaka; Nakamura, Sayoko; Aoishi, Keiko; Shiraishi, Yuko

2017-01-01

Effective communication has a great impact on nurses' job satisfaction, team relationships, as well as patient care/safety. Previous studies have highlighted the various beneficial effects of enhancing communication through assertiveness training programs for nurses. However, most programs take a long time to implement; thus, briefer programs are urgently required for universal on-the-job-training in the workplace. The purpose of this feasibility study was to develop and evaluate a modified brief assertiveness training program (with cognitive techniques) for nurses in the workplace. This study was carried out as a single-group, open trial (pre-post comparison without a control group). Registered nurses and assistant nurses, working at two private psychiatric hospitals in Miyazaki Prefecture in Japan, were recruited. After enrolling in the study, participants received a program of two 90-min sessions with a 1-month interval between sessions. The primary outcome was the Rathus Assertiveness Schedule (RAS), with secondary measurements using the Brief Version of the Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale (BFNE) and the Brief Job Stress Questionnaire (BJSQ). Assessments were conducted at baseline and after a 1-month interval (pre- and post-intervention). A total of 22 participants enrolled in the study and completed the program. The mean total score on the primary outcome (RAS) significantly improved from -12.9 (SD = 17.2) to -8.6 (SD = 18.6) ( p  = 0.01). The within-group effect size at the post-intervention was Cohen's d = 0.24; this corresponds to the small effect of the program. Regarding secondary outcomes, there were no statistically significant effects on the BFNE or any of the BJSQ subscales (job-stressors, psychological distress, physical distress, worksite support, and satisfaction). This single-group feasibility study demonstrated that our modified brief assertiveness training for nurses seems feasible and may achieve a favorable outcome in improving their

Evaluation results of a new EUV reticle pod based on SEMI E152

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ota, Kazuya; Yonekawa, Masami; Taguchi, Takao; Suga, Osamu

2010-04-01

To protect the reticle during shipping, storage and tool handling, various reticle pod concepts have been proposed and evaluated in the last 10 years. MIRAI-Selete has been developing EUV reticle handling technology and evaluating EUV reticle pods designed using "Dual Pod Concept" for four years. The concept was jointly proposed by Canon and Nikon at the EUV mask technology and standards workshop at Miyazaki in November 2004; a mask is doubly protected by an inner pod and an outer pod and the mask is carried into an exposure tool with the inner pod. Canon, Nikon and Entegris have started collaboration in 2005 and developed three types of EUV pod prototypes, alpha, beta and gamma. The gamma pods were evaluated by MIRAI-Selete and the superiority of the dual pod concept has been verified with many experimental data on shipping, storage and tool handling. The dual pod concept was standardized as SEMI E152-0709 "Mechanical Specification of EUV Pods for 150mm EUVL Reticles" in 2009. Canon, Nikon and Entegris have developed a new pod design compatible with SEMI E152; it has a Type A inner baseplate for uses with EUV exposure tools. The baseplate has two alignment windows, a window for a data matrix symbol and five pockets as the front edge grip exclusion volumes. In addition to the new features, there are some differences between the new SEMI compliant pod design and the former design "CNE-gamma", e.g. the material of the inner cover was changed to metal to reduce outgassing rate and the gap between the reticle and the side supports were widened to satisfy a requirement of the standard. MIRAI-Selete has evaluated the particle protective capability of the new SEMI compliant pods "cnPod" during shipping, storage and tool handling in vacuum and found the "cnPod" has the excellent particle protective capability and the dual pod concept can be used not only for EUVL pilot line but also for EUVL high volume manufacturing.

Building a Catalog of Time-Dependent Inversions for Cascadia ETS Events

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bartlow, N. M.; Williams, C. A.; Wallace, L. M.

2017-12-01

Episodic Tremor and Slip (ETS), composed of periodically occurring slow slip events accompanied by tectonic tremor, have been recognized in Cascadia since 1999. While the tremor has been continuously and automatically monitored for a few years (Wech et al., SRL, 2010; pnsn.org/tremor), the geodetically-derived slip has not been systematically monitored in the same way. Instead, numerous time-dependent and static inversions of the geodetic data have been performed for individual ETS events, with many events going unstudied. Careful study of, and monitoring of, ETS is important both to advance the scientific understanding of fault mechanics and to improve earthquake hazard forecasting in Cascadia. Here we present the results of initial efforts to standardize geodetic inversions of slow slip during Cascadia ETS. We use the Network Inversion Filter (NIF, Segall and Matthews,1997; McGuire and Segall, 2003; Miyazaki et al.,2006), applied evenly to an extended time period, to detect and catalog slow slip transients. Bartlow et al., 2014, conducted a similar study for the Hikurangi subduction zone, covering a 2.5 year period. Additionally, we generate Green's functions using the PyLith finite element code (Aagaard et al., 2013) to allow consideration of elastic property variations derived from a Cascadia-wide seismic velocity model (Stephenson, USGS pub., 2007). These Green's functions are then integrated to provide Green's functions compatible with the Network Inversion Filter. The use of heterogeneous elastic Green's functions allows for a more accurate estimation of slip amplitudes, both during individual ETS events and averaged over multiple events. This is useful for constraining the total slip budget in Cascadia, including whether ETS takes up the entire plate motion on the deeper extent of the plate interface where it occurs. The recent study of Williams and Wallace, GRL, 2015 demonstrated that the use heterogeneous elastic Green's Functions in inversions can make a

Southern limits of distribution of the intertidal gobies Chaenogobius annularis and C. gulosus support the existence of a biogeographic boundary in southern Japan (Teleostei, Perciformes, Gobiidae)

PubMed Central

Murase, Atsunobu; Miki, Ryohei; Motomura, Hiroyuki

2017-01-01

Abstract Understanding the distributional patterns of individual animal groups with respect to coastal topology and the local physical environment provides essential foundational frameworks for marine zoogeography. In the northwestern Pacific waters of Japan, the distributional pattern of some cool-temperate species of marine fishes suggests the existence of a biogeographic boundary corresponding to a long sandy shore on the eastern coast of Kyushu, southern Japan. The existence of this hypothetical biogeographic boundary was tested by mapping the southern distributional limit of two species of cool-temperate intertidal gobies, Chaenogobius annularis and C. gulosus, which are endemic to East Asia and common in rock pools within their range in the Japanese Archipelago. Distribution and abundance were assessed by survey of museum collections from south-east Kyushu (i.e., the entire coasts of Kagoshima and Miyazaki prefectures); and a quantitative survey of the abundance of these gobies in rock pools at various sites around the hypothesized boundary on the eastern coast of Kyushu, including the subtropical Tanega-shima Island. The museum collection survey showed different distribution patterns between the two species: C. annularis was distributed along the entire coasts of south-east Kyushu including subtropical islands, whereas C. gulosus was distributed along these coasts, including one site on a subtropical island, except for an area south of the hypothesized boundary on the eastern coast of Kyushu. The density and occurrence rates of C. annularis in rock pools decreased with latitude, it being absent from a subtropical island, and C. gulosus was not detected from sites south of the hypothesized boundary. The qualitative survey showed that the southernmost records of C. annularis and C. gulosus were the adjacent subtropical islands (Yaku-shima and Tanega-shima islands respectively), although the quantitative survey suggested that their normal range of distribution

Analysis of unclad and sub-clad semi-elliptical flaws in pressure vessel steels

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Irizarry-Quinones, H.; Macdonald, B.D.; McAfee, W.J.

This study was conducted to support warm prestressing experiments on unclad and sub-clad flawed beams loaded in pure bending. Two cladding yield strengths were investigated: 0.6 Sy and 0.8 Sy, where Sy is the yield strength of the base metal. Cladding and base metal were assumed to be stress free at the stress relief temperature for the 3D elastic-plastic finite element analysis used to model the experiments. The model results indicated that when cooled from the stress relief temperature, the cladding was put in tension due to its greater coefficient of thermal expansion. When cooled, the cladding exhibited various amountsmore » of tensile yielding. The degree of yielding depended on the amount of cooling and the strength of the cladding relative to that of the base metal. When subjected to tensile bending stress, the sub-clad flaw elastic-plastic stress intensity factor, K{sub I}(J), was at first dominated by crack closing force due to tensile yielding in the cladding. Thus, imposed loads initially caused no increase in K{sub I}(J) near the clad-base interface. However, K{sub I}(J) at the flaw depth was little affected. When the cladding residual stress was overcome, K{sub I}(J) gradually increased until the cladding began to flow. Thereafter, the rate at which K{sub I}(J) increased with load was the same as that of an unclad beam. A plastic zone corrected K{sub I} approximation for the unclad flaw was found by the superposition of standard Newman and Raju solutions with those due to a cladding crack closure force approximated by the Kaya and Erdogan solution. These elastic estimates of the effect of cladding in reducing the crack driving force were quite in keeping with the 3D elastic-plastic finite element solution for the sub-clad flaw. The results were also compared with the analysis of clad beam experiments by Keeney and the conclusions by Miyazaki, et al. A number of sub-clad flaw specimens not subjected to warm prestressing were thought to have suffered

Evaluation of Line Immunoassay to Detect HTLV-1 Infection in an Endemic Area, Southwestern Japan; Comparison with Polymerase Chain Reaction and Western Blot.

PubMed

Umeki, Kazumi; Umekita, Kunihiko; Hashikura, Yuuki; Yamamoto, Ikuo; Kubo, Kazuyoshi; Nagatomo, Yasuhiro; Okayama, Akihiko

2017-02-01

Human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) has been recognized as a cause of adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma, HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis, and HTLV-1-associated uveitis. HTLV-1 infection is normally detected by screening for HTLV-1 antibodies, and positive samples are confirmed by Western blot (WB). However, WB fails to confirm some samples that were positive for HTLV-1 antibodies on screening. Line immunoassay (LIA) is commonly used in Europe and Brazil, but not in Japan. Therefore, we evaluated the performance of LIA as a method of confirming HTLV-1 antibodies using samples in Japan. LIA was compared with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and WB using 50 negative and 70 positive samples tested by chemiluminescent enzyme immunoassay (CLEIA) in Miyazaki, Japan, an HTLV-1 endemic area. LIA (INNO-LIA HTLVI/II Score) and WB (Problot HTLV-I) were performed according to the manufacturer's instructions. Real-time PCR for HTLV-1 pX region was performed using DNA derived from white blood cells. The samples that tested negative by real-time PCR were further tested by nested PCR. All 50 CLEIA negative samples were determined to be negative by LIA and PCR. Of the 70 positive samples, 66 tested positive by both of LIA and PCR. Three samples tested negative by LIA and PCR, and the remaining sample (PCR negative) showed non-specific staining in LIA and WB. WB showed more indeterminate results than LIA. Gp21 antibody in LIA demonstrated a high ability to discriminate between positive and negative PCR results. Furthermore, the degree of gp21 antibody reaction by LIA showed correlation with HTLV-1 proviral loads (PVLs). Our results indicate that LIA performs well in confirming HTLV-1 seropositivity by showing a low incidence of indeterminate results and good agreement with PCR using samples in Japan, although the number of samples tested was small. In addition, semi-quantitative antibody titer to gp21 correlated well with HTLV-1 PVLs. Further study

Diffusional creep of fine-grained olivine aggregates: Chemical and melt effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yabe, K.; Hiraga, T.

2017-12-01

Since olivine is the major constituent mineral of the earth's upper mantle, flow properties of the upper mantle are often estimated based on flow laws of olivine aggregate which are determined by high-temperature creep experiments. Recently, Miyazaki et al. (2013) showed that crystallographic preferred orientation (CPO) which has been interpreted as the main cause for seismic wave anisotropy in mantle asthenosphere could be formed in diffusional creep regime. The detail of diffusional creep of olivine aggregates is not clear yet. The strength of olivine aggregates synthesized using sol-gel method (Faul and Jackson 2007) was more than one order of magnitude harder in viscosity than those synthesized from natural mantle rocks (Hirth and Kohlstedt 1995, Hansen et al. 2011) even at the same experimental conditions. This discrepancy can be interpreted by a presence of melt and/or impurity. The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of chemical composition and presence of the melt phase on the creep properties of olivine aggregates. At first, Fe-bearing olivine aggregates were prepared by vacuum sintering of nano-sized olivine powder synthesized from highly pure and fine-grained (<100 nm) source powders. Samples with and without dopants of Al2O3 and CaO were prepared. Then uniaxial compression tests at 1 atm were conducted. Deformation experiments showed that all the samples were deformed by diffusional creep mechanism. Both doped and non-doped samples exhibited sample strength at low temperature (=1150˚C), while the doped sample became significantly weaker with showing higher temperature sensitivity compared to non-doped samples at higher temperature. The temperature sensitivity of doped samples didn't change below and above solidus, which indicate the weakening due to chemical effect, not by the melting. Non-doped samples exhibits essentially the same strength as olivine aggregates synthesized from sol-gel method (Faul and Jackson 2007), while doped sample is

Alignment of olivine crystals during diffusion creep in oceanic peridotite mylonites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deems, N. J.; Warren, J. M.; Wolfson-Schwehr, M.

2014-12-01

At small grain sizes (<10 µm), olivine is expected to deform by diffusion creep at lithospheric conditions. Microstructural analysis by electron backscatter diffraction of 13 peridotite mylonites from St. Paul's Rocks (SPR) indicates that olivine has a pronounced axial-[010] lattice preferred orientation (i.e. [010] clusters perpendicular to foliation, while [100] and [001] are dispersed in the foliation plane) and a mean grain size of ~7µm. Holtzman et al. (2003) has observed similar LPOs in partially molten samples experimentally deformed under simple shear at lithospheric conditions. The occurrence of a lattice preferred orientation (LPO) is typically interpreted as indicating deformation by dislocation creep. In addition, compositional maps of the samples show that amphibole (pargasite) is ubiquitous. As the presence of pargasite in peridotites is controlled in part by the activity of plagioclase and water at high temperatures (Lynkins and Jenkins, 1992), we infer this as evidence for the presence of pre- to syn-tectonic trapped melt. In order to explain the observed LPO in SPR mylonites, we evaluate the hypothesis that alignment occurred during diffusion creep, such as observed in experiments by Sundberg and Cooper (2008) and Miyazaki et al., (2013). To explore this hypothesis, we conducted analyses of low angle (2-10°) rotation axis inverse pole figures (IPFs), which can often provide insight into the operative slip system(s). Analyses of low angle IPFs from SPR, however, showed no definitive correlation to any one particular slip system. On the other hand, high angle IPFs showed intense clustering of rotational axes at 75-90° about [010], indicating that [100] and [001] align nearly perpendicular to [010]. Based on the IPF analysis and evidence of pre- to syn-tectonic melt, we conclude that the presence of melt lubricated grain boundaries, which resulted in rigid rotation of grains and alignment of the [010] axes controlled by the orthorhombic crystal

Quantum Bio-Informatics II From Quantum Information to Bio-Informatics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Accardi, L.; Freudenberg, Wolfgang; Ohya, Masanori

2009-02-01

/ H. Kamimura -- Massive collection of full-length complementary DNA clones and microarray analyses: keys to rice transcriptome analysis / S. Kikuchi -- Changes of influenza A(H5) viruses by means of entropic chaos degree / K. Sato and M. Ohya -- Basics of genome sequence analysis in bioinformatics - its fundamental ideas and problems / T. Suzuki and S. Miyazaki -- A basic introduction to gene expression studies using microarray expression data analysis / D. Wanke and J. Kilian -- Integrating biological perspectives: a quantum leap for microarray expression analysis / D. Wanke ... [et al.].

PREFACE: 3rd International Symposium on Functional Materials 2009 (ISFM 2009) 3rd International Symposium on Functional Materials 2009 (ISFM 2009)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kiwon, Kim; Li, Lu; Taehyun, Nam; Jouhyeon, Ahn

2010-05-01

The 3rd International Symposium on Functional Materials 2009 (ISFM 2009) and its preconference, Advances in Functional Materials 2009 (AFM 2009), were successfully held in the Republic of Korea from 15-18 June 2009 and in the People's Republic of China from 8-12 June 2009, respectively. The two conferences attracted over 300 oral and poster presentations from over 12 countries including Australia, Canada, China, Germany, Japan, India, Israel, Korea, The Netherlands, Thailand, the UK and the USA. In the two conferences, eight keynote lectures were delivered by S Miyazaki, S A Akbar, D J Singh, C Suryanarayana, M~Greenblatt, H Zhang, T Sato and J Ding. This topical issue of Physica Scripta contains papers presented at the ISFM 2009 and AFM 2009. Keyan Li from Dalian University, People's Republic of China, presents some empirical formulae to estimate the elastic moduli of rocksalt-, zincblende- and chalcopyrite-structured crystals, on the basis of electronegativities of bonded atoms in the crystallographic frame. Min-Jung Kim from Hanyang University, Korea, reports on the preparation and characterization of carboxyl functionalization of magnetite nanoparticles for oligonucleotide immobilization. F Yan from the National University of Singapore studies the fabrication of Bi(Fe0.5Sc0.5)O3-PbTiO3 (BSF-PT) thin films by pulsed laser deposition, and the enhanced magnetic moment with respect to BiFeO3-PbTiO3. Dong-Gil Lee from Pusan National University, Korea, reports on the sterilization of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli using nanofiber TiO2 films prepared by the electrostatic spray method. Sang-Eun Park from the Korea Institute of Science and Technology reports on the study of encapsulated Fe3O4 nanoparticles with a silica thin layer with a reversible capacity of about 363 mAhg-1. Other researchers report on many other exiting achievements in the fields of ferromagnetic materials, magneto-optical materials, thermoelectric materials, shape memory materials, fuel-cell and

Reproductive performance of Japanese Black cattle: Association with herd size, season, and parity in commercial cow-calf operations.

PubMed

Sasaki, Yosuke; Uematsu, Mizuho; Kitahara, Go; Osawa, Takeshi

2016-12-01

The Japanese Black is the most common breed of beef cattle in Japan. However, only limited data are available on the associations of season, parity, and herd size with reproductive performance in Japanese Black cattle. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to determine the associations of these factors with reproductive performance parameters, such as the calving to first service interval (CFSI) and first service conception rate in Japanese Black cattle. Data were collected from 34,763 calvings in 13,186 animals from 826 commercial cow-calf operations in the Miyazaki prefecture, which is located on the south eastern coast of Kyushu, Japan. This region has a temperate climate with warm humid summers and cold winters. All cattle were reared intensively, and the animals were housed in free stalls throughout their lives. The mean number of cows per farm was 18 (range, 1-454). All animals were bred by artificial insemination. Herds were classified into three groups based on size: small (≤10 cows), intermediate (11-50 cows), and large (≥51 cows). The mean (±SD) parity, CFSI, and the first service conception rate were 4.9 ± 2.9, 80.0 ± 46.2 days, and 53.5 ± 49.9%, respectively. Cows that calved in the spring (March to May) and winter (December to February) had the longest CFSI (P < 0.05). The CFSI in first-parity cows was shorter than in cows at parity 7 or higher (P < 0.05). Cows in large herds had an approximately 10 days shorter mean CFSI than those in small herds (P < 0.05). Cows inseminated in the winter or spring had an approximately 5% points lesser first-service conception rate (FSCR) than those inseminated during the summer (June to August) or autumn (September to November; P < 0.05). As parity increased from 1 to 9, FSCR decreased from 60.0% to 43.1% (P < 0.05). Cows in small herds had a lesser FSCR than those in intermediate and large herds (P < 0.05). In summary, decreased reproductive performance in intensively reared

Plant Roots: The Hidden Half. Chapter 16; Calcium and Gravitropism; Revised

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Poovaiah, B. W.; Reedy, A. S. N.

1995-01-01

, Bowler and Chua, Gilroy and Trewavas). Plant roots have been widely used to study the transduction of gravity and light signals (Poovaiah et al., Roux and Serlin). Most roots show positive gravitropic response in either dark or light. However, roots of some varieties of plants (e.g., Zea mays L., cv Merit, and Zea rwvs L., cv Golden Cross Bantam 70) show positive gravitropic response only in light (Feldman, Miyazaki et al.). Investigations from various laboratories indicate that calcium acts as a messenger in transducing gravity and light signals in plant roots(Pickard, Evans et al., Pooviah et al.).

The 190Pt-186Os Decay System Applied to Dating Platinum-Group Element Mineralization in Layered Intrusions, Ophiolites and Detrital Deposits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coggon, J. A.; Nowell, G.; Pearson, G.; Oberthür, T.; Lorand, J.; Melcher, F.; Parman, S. W.

2010-12-01

sampling represented by laser ablation. Scoates, J.S. and Friedman, R.M. 2008. Precise age of the platiniferous Merensky reef, Bushveld Complex, South Africa, by the U-Pb zircon chemical abrasion ID-TIMS technique; Economic Geology 103, p. 465-471. Wakita, K., Miyazaki, K., Zulkarnain, I., Sopaheluwakan, J. and Sanyoto, P. 1998. Tectonic implications of new age data for the Meratus complex of south Kalimantan, Indonesia; Island Arc 7, p. 202-222.

Spatiotemporal distribution of interplate slip following the 2003 Tokachi-oki earthquake deduced from ocean bottom pressure gauges and onland GNSS data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Itoh, Y.; Nishimura, T.; Ariyoshi, K.; Matsumoto, H.

2017-12-01

The 2003 Tokachi-oki earthquake (Mw 8.0) is an interplate earthquake along the Kurile trench. Its co- and post-seismic deformation has been observed by onland GNSS [e.g., Miyazaki et al. 2004] and modeled with afterslip and/or viscoelastic relaxation [e.g., Itoh and Nishimura 2016]. In the offshore region, two ocean bottom pressure gauges (OBPs) are operated by JAMSTEC since July 1999 [Hirata et al. 2002] and they have continuously observed the pre-, co- and post-seismic pressure change of the 2003 event [Baba et al. 2006]. The observed pressure change can be interpreted as vertical displacement, and the resolution of slip beneath the seafloor far from the land was improved by incorporating these pressure data into onland GNSS data [Baba et al. 2006]. However, no previous studies used postseismic pressure data for several years to estimate an interplate slip. Because, in this region, an M8 class event similar to the 2003 event has occurred in 1952, it is important to clarify a healing process of an interplate coupling which may lead to a next M8 class event in terms of the earthquake cycle. Itoh and Nishimura [2017, JpGU-AGU Joint Meeting] estimated it but used only onland GNSS data. In this study, we use both onland GNSS and OBP data. For OBP data analysis, we first removed the tidal component using BAYTAP08 [Tamura et al. 1991; Tamura and Agnew 2008]. Next, we corrected the temporal fluctuation of data correlating with temperature [Baba et al. 2006]. We estimated the linear trend before the 2003 event using the corrected time series from 2002 Jan. 1 to 2003 Sep. 1 and remove the estimated trend from the data after the 2003 event. Here, we assumed a non-linear drift could be ignored. Finally, we down-sampled the remained time series with an interval of 1 month. For the onland GNSS data, we used the same data set of Itoh and Nishimura [2017, JpGU-AGU Joint Meeting]. We constructed the model consisting of coseismic slip of the 2003 and M6-7 events in the postseismic

Stress Drops of Earthquakes on the Subducting Pacific Plate in the South-East off Hokkaido, Japan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saito, Y.; Yamada, T.

2013-12-01

Large earthquakes have been occurring repeatedly in the South-East of Hokkaido, Japan, where the Pacific Plate subducts beneath the Okhotsk Plate in the north-west direction. For example, the 2003 Tokachi-oki earthquake (Mw8.3 determined by USGS) took place in the region on September 26, 2003. Yamanaka and Kikuchi (2003) analyzed the slip distribution of the earthquake and concluded that the 2003 earthquake had ruptured the deeper half of the fault plane of the 1952 Tokachi-oki earthquake. Miyazaki et al. (2004) reported that a notable afterslip was observed at adjacent areas to the coseismic rupture zone of the 2003 earthquake, which suggests that there would be significant heterogeneities of strength, stress and frictional properties on the surface of the Pacific Plate in the region. In addition, some previous studies suggest that the region with a large slip in large earthquakes permanently have large difference of strength and the dynamic frictional stress level and that it would be able to predict the spatial pattern of slip in the next large earthquake by analyzing the stress drop of small earthquakes (e.g. Allmann and Shearer, 2007 and Yamada et al., 2010). We estimated stress drops of 150 earthquakes (4.2 ≤ M ≤ 5.0), using S-coda waves, or the waveforms from 4.00 to 9.11 seconds after the S wave arrivals, of Hi-net data. The 150 earthquakes were the ones that occurred from June, 2002 to December, 2010 in south-east of Hokkaido, Japan, from 40.5N to 43.5N and from 141.0E to 146.5E. First we selected waveforms of the closest earthquakes with magnitudes between 3.0 and 3.2 to individual 150 earthquakes as empirical Green's functions. We then calculated source spectral ratios of the 150 pairs of interested earthquakes and EGFs by deconvolving the individual S-coda waves. We finally estimated corner frequencies of earthquakes from the spectral ratios by assuming the omega-squared model of Boatwright (1978) and calculated stress drops of the earthquakes by

Proceedings of the 8th International Symposium on Foundations of Quantum Mechanics in the Light of New Technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ishioka, Sachio; Fujikawa, Kazuo

2006-06-01

.]. Coalescence and rearrangement of vortices in mesoscopic superconductors / A. Kanda ... [et al.]. Superconductivity in topologically nontrivial spaces / M. Hayashi ... [et al.]. DC-SQUID ratchet using atomic point contact / Y. Ootuka, H. Miyazaki, A. Kanda. Superconducting wire network under spatially modulated magnetic field / H. Sano ... [et al.]. Simple and stable control of mechanical break junction for the study of superconducting atomic point contact / H. Miyazaki ... [et al.]. Critical currents in quasiperiodic pinning arrays: one-dimensional chains and Penrose lattices / V. R. Misko, S. Savel'ev, F. Nori. Macroscopic quantum tunneling in high-Tc superconductor Josephson junctions / S. Kawabata -- Novel properties of carbon nanotubes. Carbon nanotubes and unique transport properties: importance of symmetry and channel number / T. Ando. Optical processes in single-walled carbon nanotubes threaded by a magnetic flux / J. Kono ... [et al.]. Non-equilibrium transport through a single-walled carbon nanotube with highly transparent coupling to reservoirs / P. Recher, N. Y. Kim, Y. Yamamoto -- Novel properties of nano-systems. Transport properties in low dimensional artificial lattice of gold nano-particles / S. Saito ... [et al.]. First principles study of dihydride-chain structures on H-terminated Si(100) surface / Y. Suwa ... [et al.]. Electrical property of Ag nanowires fabricated on hydrogen-terminated Si(100) surface / M. Fujimori, S. Heike, T. Hashizume. Effect of environment on ionization of excited atoms embedded in a solid-state cavity / M. Ando ... [et al.]. Development of universal virtual spectroscope for optoelectronics research: first principles software replacing dielectric constant measurements / T. Hamada ... [et al.]. Quantum Nernst effect / H Nakamura, N. Hatano, R. Shirasaki -- Precise measurements. Quantum phenomena visualized using electron waves / A. Tonomura. An optical lattice clock: ultrastable atomic clock with engineered perturbation / H. Katori

Earthquake Rupture Process Inferred from Joint Inversion of 1-Hz GPS and Strong Motion Data: The 2008 Iwate-Miyagi Nairiku, Japan, Earthquake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yokota, Y.; Koketsu, K.; Hikima, K.; Miyazaki, S.

2009-12-01

1-Hz GPS data can be used as a ground displacement seismogram. The capability of high-rate GPS to record seismic wave fields for large magnitude (M8 class) earthquakes has been demonstrated [Larson et al., 2003]. Rupture models were inferred solely and supplementarily from 1-Hz GPS data [Miyazaki et al., 2004; Ji et al., 2004; Kobayashi et al., 2006]. However, none of the previous studies have succeeded in inferring the source process of the medium-sized (M6 class) earthquake solely from 1-Hz GPS data. We first compared 1-Hz GPS data with integrated strong motion waveforms for the 2008 Iwate-Miyagi Nairiku, Japan, earthquake. We performed a waveform inversion for the rupture process using 1-Hz GPS data only [Yokota et al., 2009]. We here discuss the rupture processes inferred from the inversion of 1-Hz GPS data of GEONET only, the inversion of strong motion data of K-NET and KiK-net only, and the joint inversion of 1-Hz GPS and strong motion data. The data were inverted to infer the rupture process of the earthquake using the inversion codes by Yoshida et al. [1996] with the revisions by Hikima and Koketsu [2005]. In the 1-Hz GPS inversion result, the total seismic moment is 2.7×1019 Nm (Mw: 6.9) and the maximum slip is 5.1 m. These results are approximately equal to 2.4×1019 Nm and 4.5 m from the inversion of strong motion data. The difference in the slip distribution on the northern fault segment may come from long-period motions possibly recorded only in 1-Hz GPS data. In the joint inversion result, the total seismic moment is 2.5×1019 Nm and the maximum slip is 5.4 m. These values also agree well with the result of 1-Hz GPS inversion. In all the series of snapshots that show the dynamic features of the rupture process, the rupture propagated bilaterally from the hypocenter to the south and north. The northern rupture speed is faster than the northern one. These agreements demonstrate the ability of 1-Hz GPS data to infer not only static, but also dynamic

Factors associated with farm-level infection of porcine epidemic diarrhea during the early phase of the epidemic in Japan in 2013 and 2014.

PubMed

Toyomaki, Haruya; Sekiguchi, Satoshi; Sasaki, Yosuke; Sueyoshi, Masuo; Makita, Kohei

2018-02-01

The objective of this study was to investigate factors that caused rapid spread during the early phase of the porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) epidemic in Japan in 2013 and 2014. Anonymized datasets from all pig farms were provided by Kagoshima (709 farms) and Miyazaki Prefectures (506 farms). Semi-parametric survival analysis was conducted using the first 180 days from the first case on December 3, 2013 in Kagoshima Prefecture. To compare the hazard between different farm management types, univariable survival analysis was conducted. As farm sizes varied among different farm types, bivariable survival analysis was conducted for farm size categories and farm density per km 2 for each management type. A case-control study using a postal questionnaire survey was conducted in September 2014, and risk factor analysis was performed using generalized linear models with binomial errors. The hazard was significantly higher in farrow-to-finish farms than fattening farms [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.6, p < 0.01], but was not significantly different between reproduction and fattening farms (HR = 1.3, p = 0.16). In separate bivariable survival analyses for each farm type, large- and middle-scale farms had higher hazard than small-scale farms in fattening (HR = 5.8 and 2.6, respectively, both p < 0.01) and reproduction farms (HR = 4.0 and 3.6, respectively, both p < 0.01). In farrow-to-finish farms, large-scale farms had higher hazard than small-scale farms (HR = 2.8, p < 0.01), and higher farm density per km 2 was also a risk factor (HR = 7.6, p < 0.01). In the case-control study, questionnaires were returned from 78 PED virus-infected and 91 non-infected farms. The overall response rate was 34%. Risk factors of the final model were occurrence of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome in the past 5 years [odds ratio (OR) = 1.97, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.97-4.00, p = 0.054], use of a common compost station (OR�

Postseismic Deformation: Different mechanisms in different times and places.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Segall, P.

2004-12-01

Improved understanding of postseismic deformation may elucidate time dependent stress transfer and triggered seismicity following large earthquakes. Afterslip, distributed viscoelastic flow, and poroelastic relaxation alter crustal stress and pore pressure distributions and in many cases lead to distinctive surface deformation patterns. Delayed triggering, due to rate and state dependent friction, on the other hand need not lead to detectable surface deformation. Postseismic deformation recorded following the 1999 ChiChi, Taiwan, 2003 Tokachi-Oki, Japan, and 2000 south Iceland earthquakes can be used to test for the effects of these processes. Horizontal displacements of 10 cm accumulated in the first year following the Chi-Chi quake. These are best explained with continued slip on the Chelungpu fault (Hsu et al, G.R.L. 2002). Inversions indicate the afterslip was roughly localized in a ring around the locus of maximum coseismic slip. The observed displacement pattern is inconsistent with predictions from viscoelastic and poroelastic models. Viscoelastic relaxation of the lower crust produces shortening of the hanging wall instead of the observed extension. The fully drained poroelastic response predicts deformation concentrated near the fault ends, which was not observed. Fully time dependent calculations, however, are still required because poroelastic displacements need not be monotonic. Afterslip following the M 8 Tokachi Oki earthquake is also localized around the area of high mainshock slip (Miyazaki et al, GRL, 2004). Surprisingly, the slip is not located downdip of the mainshock, but along strike of the source region. This indicates that the transient deformation is not caused by deceleration of the earthquake instability, but rather by stress increases due to the mainshock. A major question is whether intermediate depth afterslip following the Tokachi Oki and ChiChi earthquakes occurs in stable (steady state velocity strengthening) areas which will never

FOREWORD: Shape Memory and Related Technologies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Yong

2005-10-01

materials in various demanding fields. Some top researchers from Asia, Australia, Europe and USA attended the meeting and gave oral presentations on both the fundamentals and applied aspects of SMAs and MSMs. Several prominent experts have delivered invited talks on the damping capacity of SMAs (J Van Humbeeck), SMA thin films (S Miyazaki), MSMs (V Lindross and O Söderberg) and SMA microtubes (Q P Sun). At the end of the Symposium, a panel discussion on various aspects of shape memory materials was held in the Nanyang Technological University. Comments, suggestions, opinions, discussions etc from all participants are greatly appreciated and acknowledged. I would like to thank all the participants for their valuable contributions toward the success of SMART2004, and thank all the session chairpersons for making this Symposium an event full of beneficial discussions. This special issue includes some of the manuscripts submitted to SMART2004. I want to express my deep gratitude to the editorial office of the journal of Smart Materials and Structures and all the referees for their great help in producing this special issue. This symposium has received support from the Institute of Materials (East Asia) and the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering of the Nanyang Technological University. The following sponsors are gratefully acknowledged: Lee Foundation (Singapore) Accelrys Instron (Singapore Pte Ltd).

Quantum Bio-Informatics IV

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Accardi, Luigi; Freudenberg, Wolfgang; Ohya, Masanori

2011-01-01

.Use of cryptographic ideas to interpret biological phenomena (and vice versa) / M. Regoli -- Discrete approximation to operators in white noise analysis / Si Si -- Bogoliubov type equations via infinite-dimensional equations for measures / V. V. Kozlov and O. G. Smolyanov -- Analysis of several categorical data using measure of proportional reduction in variation / K. Yamamoto ... [et al.] -- The electron reservoir hypothesis for two-dimensional electron systems / K. Yamada ... [et al.] -- On the correspondence between Newtonian and functional mechanics / E. V. Piskovskiy and I. V. Volovich -- Quantile-quantile plots: An approach for the inter-species comparison of promoter architecture in eukaryotes / K. Feldmeier ... [et al.] -- Entropy type complexities in quantum dynamical processes / N. Watanabe -- A fair sampling test for Ekert protocol / G. Adenier, A. Yu. Khrennikov and N. Watanabe -- Brownian dynamics simulation of macromolecule diffusion in a protocell / T. Ando and J. Skolnick -- Signaling network of environmental sensing and adaptation in plants: Key roles of calcium ion / K. Kuchitsu and T. Kurusu -- NetzCope: A tool for displaying and analyzing complex networks / M. J. Barber, L. Streit and O. Strogan -- Study of HIV-1 evolution by coding theory and entropic chaos degree / K. Sato -- The prediction of botulinum toxin structure based on in silico and in vitro analysis / T. Suzuki and S. Miyazaki -- On the mechanism of D-wave high T[symbol] superconductivity by the interplay of Jahn-Teller physics and Mott physics / H. Ushio, S. Matsuno and H. Kamimura.

Continuous GPS observations in Tohoku University and recovery effort after the 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku Earthquake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Demachi, T.; Miura, S.; Ohta, Y.; Tachibana, K.; Ueki, S.; Sato, T.; Ohzono, M.; Umino, N.

2012-04-01

The nation-wide GPS observation network which is named GPS Earth Observation Network System (GEONET) has been established by the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI) (Miyazaki et al., 1997). The network composed more than 1,200 stations with baseline length is about 20-25 km. Tohoku University has also conducted continuous GPS observations since 1987 in the Tohoku district, Northeastern Japan (Miura et al., 1993). Recently, to investigate short-length crustal deformations such as volcanic deformation, co- and post-seismic deformation of M6-7 class earthquakes and inter-seismic deformations, we have deployed continuous GPS observation stations to complement the location of GEONET stations (Miura et al. 2000, 2002, and 2004). We installed GPS receiver, PC for data logging (ALIX series, PC Engines GmbH) and re-booter (e.g., WATCH BOOT nino, Meikyo Electric Co., Ltd.) in each station. We have secure and stable online access to each station from our university (Sendai city, Japan) using IP-VPN over fixed telephone lines (FLET'S Office service, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone East Corp.). Through this network, the data are transferred to our university and we can restart the devices if the devices hang up. Since 2010, we have tried to use on-line system through internet by prepaid mobile data-communication (b-mobile3G and b-mobileSIM U300, Japan Communications Inc.) in eight observation stations. Compared with the FLET'S Office service, we can conveniently and inexpensively establish wherever the mobile phone service is provided. The two stations are located in volcanoes, we activate the network system for an hour in every day using motor time switch, because of these devices are operated by limited DC power supplies through solar cell. In other six stations, we can use commercial AC power supplies, so that data connections are always available. On March 11, 2011, the 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku Earthquake (Mw 9.0) occurred and a huge tsunami caused

EDITORIAL: Special issue on Graphene Special issue on Graphene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morpurgo, Alberto F.; Trauzettel, Björn

2010-03-01

and effectively reflect the status of different areas of graphene research. The excitonic condensation in a double graphene system is discussed by Kharitonov and Efetov. Borca et al report on a method to fabricate and characterize graphene monolayers epitaxially grown on Ru(0001). Furthermore, the energy and transport gaps in etched graphene nanoribbons are analyzed experimentally by Molitor et al. Mucha-Kruczyński et al review the tight-binding model of bilayer graphene, whereas Wurm et al focus on a theoretical description of the Aharonov-Bohm effect in monolayer graphene rings. Screening effects and collective excitations are studied by Roldán et al. Subsequently, Palacios et al review the electronic and magnetic structures of graphene nanoribbons, a problem that is highly relevant for graphene-based transistors. Klein tunneling in single and multiple barriers in graphene is the topic of the review article by Pereira Jr et al, while De Martino and Egger discuss the spectrum of a magnetic quantum dot in graphene. Titov et al study the effect of resonant scatterers on the local density of states in a rectangular graphene setup with metallic leads. Finally, the resistance modulation of multilayer graphene controlled by gate electric fields is experimentally analyzed by Miyazaki et al. We would like to thank all the authors for their contributions, which combine new results and pedagogical discussions of the state-of-the-art in different areas: it is this combination that most often adds to the value of topical issues. Special thanks also goes to the staff of Institute of Physics Publishing for contributing to the success of this effort.

Deformation and gravity changes at Izu islands, Japan, prior to, during, and after the 2000 caldera collapse at Miyake-jima volcano

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Furuya, M.; Okubo, S.; Kimata, F.

2006-12-01

Eruptive and caldera-forming activity at Miyakejima volcano, Japan, was accompanied by more than 40 days of seismic swarms, including more than five M6 (or greater) earthquakes, and significant crustal deformation in nearby islands. Here we review ground deformation and gravity changes at Miyakejima and other nearby islands prior to, during, and after the 2000 caldera collapse episode at Miyakejima. While ground displacements observed at Izu-islands can be basically predicted from the Philippine Sea Plate motion in a global perspective, Miyakejima was undergoing inflation if examined locally within the island before the 2000 unrest. It is also known that a couple of leveling benchmarks inside the previous caldera were secularly subsiding [Miyazaki, 1990]. Using JERS1's InSAR data, Furuya~[2004] also confirmed this. Was the localized subsidence before 2000 a precursor for the caldera collapse? We will argue that this is probably not the case. After the beginning of the earthquake swarm on 26 June 2000, significant ground displacements were recorded at Miyakejima both in the permanent GPS stations [e.g., Nishimura et al. 2001] and tiltmeters by the NIED [Ukawa et al. 2001]. Using both FG5 absolute gravimeter and LaCoste-Romberg G-type gravimeters, high precision gravity survey has been repeatedly carried out by ERI, University of Tokyo. Furuya et al~[2003a] showed spatial-temporal gravity changes from the beginning stage to early 2001. Notably, they detected a gravity decrease of as much as 145 μgals (1 μgal=10^{-8} m/s2) at the summit area 2 days prior to the collapse, and interpreted as reflecting the formation of a large void beneath the volcano. Correcting for the effect of topography change due to the collapse, subsequent gravity change data suggested an effective density decrease until the middle August 2000, followed by a significant density increase toward at least November 2000. Those spatial and temporal gravity changes were associated with the explosive

Preface: Introductory Remarks: Linear Scaling Methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bowler, D. R.; Fattebert, J.-L.; Gillan, M. J.; Haynes, P. D.; Skylaris, C.-K.

2008-07-01

problems, there was another important theme: extending functionality. The search for greater accuracy has given an implementation of density functional designed to model van der Waals interactions accurately as well as local correlation, TDDFT and QMC and GW methods which, while not explicitly O(N), take advantage of localisation. All speakers at the workshop were invited to contribute to this issue, but not all were able to do this. Hence it is useful to give a complete list of the talks presented, with the names of the sessions; however, many talks fell within more than one area. This is an exciting time for linear scaling methods, which are already starting to contribute significantly to important scientific problems. Applications to nanostructures and biomolecules A DFT study on the structural stability of Ge 3D nanostructures on Si(001) using CONQUEST Tsuyoshi Miyazaki, D R Bowler, M J Gillan, T Otsuka and T Ohno Large scale electronic structure calculation theory and several applications Takeo Fujiwara and Takeo Hoshi ONETEP:Linear-scaling DFT with plane waves Chris-Kriton Skylaris, Peter D Haynes, Arash A Mostofi, Mike C Payne Maximally-localised Wannier functions as building blocks for large-scale electronic structure calculations Arash A Mostofi and Nicola Marzari A linear scaling three dimensional fragment method for ab initio calculations Lin-Wang Wang, Zhengji Zhao, Juan Meza Peta-scalable reactive Molecular dynamics simulation of mechanochemical processes Aiichiro Nakano, Rajiv K. Kalia, Ken-ichi Nomura, Fuyuki Shimojo and Priya Vashishta Recent developments and applications of the real-space multigrid (RMG) method Jerzy Bernholc, M Hodak, W Lu, and F Ribeiro Energy minimisation functionals and algorithms CONQUEST: A linear scaling DFT Code David R Bowler, Tsuyoshi Miyazaki, Antonio Torralba, Veronika Brazdova, Milica Todorovic, Takao Otsuka and Mike Gillan Kernel optimisation and the physical significance of optimised local orbitals in the ONETEP code Peter

Study on common seasonal signals in GPS time series and environmental loadings using Multichannel Singular Spectrum Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gruszczynska, Marta; Rosat, Severine; Klos, Anna; Bogusz, Janusz

2017-04-01

Analysis to determine common seasonal signals in two case studies with adopted a 3-years lag-window as the optimal window size. We also inferred the statistical significance of oscillations through the Monte Carlo MSSA method (Allen and Robertson, 1996). In the first case study, we investigated the common spatio-temporal seasonal signals for all stations. For this purpose, we divided selected stations with respect to the continents. For instance, for stations located in Europe, seasonal oscillations accounts for approximately 45% of the GPS-derived data variance. Much higher variance of seasonal signals is explained by hydrological loadings of about 92%, while the non-tidal oceanic loading accounted for 31% of total variance. In the second case study, we analysed the capability of the MSSA method to establish a causality between several time series. Each of estimated Principal Component represents pattern of the common signal for all analysed data. For ZIMM station (Zimmerwald, Switzerland), the 1st, 2nd and 9th, 10th Principal Components, which accounts for 35% of the variance, corresponds to the annual and semi-annual signals. In this part, we applied the non-parametric MSSA approach to extract the common seasonal signals for GPS time series and environmental loadings for each of the 250 stations with clear statement, that some part of seasonal signal reflects the real geophysical effects. REFERENCES: 1. Allen, M. and Robertson, A.: 1996, Distinguishing modulated oscillations from coloured noise in multivariate datasets. Climate Dynamics, 12, No. 11, 775-784. DOI: 10.1007/s003820050142. 2. Dong, D., Fang, P., Bock, Y., Cheng, M.K. and Miyazaki, S.: 2002, Anatomy of apparent seasonal variations from GPS-derived site position time series. Journal of Geophysical Research, 107, No. B4, 2075. DOI: 10.1029/2001JB000573. 3. Rebischung, P., Altamimi, Z., Ray, J. and Garayt, B.: 2016, The IGS contribution to ITRF2014. Journal of Geodesy, 90, No. 7, 611-630. DOI:10.1007/s00190-016-0897-6.

PREFACE: Complex dynamics of fluids in disordered and crowded environments Complex dynamics of fluids in disordered and crowded environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coslovich, Daniele; Kahl, Gerhard; Krakoviack, Vincent

2011-06-01

T Fischer and R L C Vink Lennard-Jones binary mixture in disordered matrices: exploring the mode coupling scenario at increasing confinement P Gallo and M Rovere Static and dynamic contributions to anomalous chain dynamics in polymer blends Marco Bernabei, Angel J Moreno and J Colmenero Anomalous transport of a tracer on percolating clusters Markus Spanner, Felix Höfling, Gerd E Schröder-Turk, Klaus Mecke and Thomas Franosch Long-wavelength anomalies in the asymptotic behavior of mode-coupling theory S K Schnyder, F Höfling, T Franosch and Th Voigtmann Dynamic arrest of colloids in porous environments: disentangling crowding and confinement Jan Kurzidim, Daniele Coslovich and Gerhard Kahl Slow dynamics, dynamic heterogeneities, and fragility of supercooled liquids confined in random media Kang Kim, Kunimasa Miyazaki and Shinji Saito