Adhesion of Gels by Silica Particle

In this study, a method for achieving adhesion between two positively charged gels with high mechanical strength was developed. By utilizing a silica particle dispersion as a binder, the gels easily adhered to each other and remained stable for up to 11 days when immersed in aqueous solution. The adhesion force between the two positively charged semi-interpenetrating network gels with the silica particle was measured to be up to approximately 20 kPa, which is around 10 times larger than that with a charged polymer-rich liquid as a cross-linker (approximately 1.5 kPa). It was demonstrated that the adhesion force was a result of two types of interactions: an electrostatic attractive force between the cationic gel surface and hydrogen bonding among the silica particles. In addition, it was shown that the adhesion force was dependent on solution pH, which was attributed to changes in the charge of the silica particles

SMRs for pneumonia death

Dataset containing area, week from earthquake, observed number of pneumonia deaths, expected number of pneumonia deaths, standardized mortality ratios and p valu

The personality profile of an actor

The thesis deals with personality characteristics of an actor and how the profession influences the identity and the whole life of an actor. The theoretical part is divided into three chapters. The first one includes selected aspects, which create the personality in the context of acting. The second chapter is the summary of existing studies about personality and acting. In the third one I try to find personal characteristics of few actors, based on their biographies. In the empirical part I suggest a research. The aim of the study would be finding a difference between personal profile of students of acting at the beginning and at the end of their educational process

Estimated Number of Patients with Influenza A(H1)pdm09, or Other Viral Types, from 2010 to 2014 in Japan

<div><p>Infectious disease surveillance systems provide information crucial for protecting populations from influenza epidemics. However, few have reported the nationwide number of patients with influenza-like illness (ILI), detailing virological type. Using data from the infectious disease surveillance system in Japan, we estimated the weekly number of ILI cases by virological type, including pandemic influenza (A(H1)pdm09) and seasonal-type influenza (A(H3) and B) over a four-year period (week 36 of 2010 to week 18 of 2014). We used the reported number of influenza cases from nationwide sentinel surveillance and the proportions of virological types from infectious agents surveillance and estimated the number of cases and their 95% confidence intervals. For the 2010/11 season, influenza type A(H1)pdm09 was dominant: 6.48 million (6.33–6.63), followed by types A(H3): 4.05 million (3.90–4.21) and B: 2.84 million (2.71–2.97). In the 2011/12 season, seasonal influenza type A(H3) was dominant: 10.89 million (10.64–11.14), followed by type B: 5.54 million (5.32–5.75). In conclusion, close monitoring of the estimated number of ILI cases by virological type not only highlights the huge impact of previous influenza epidemics in Japan, it may also aid the prediction of future outbreaks, allowing for implementation of control and prevention measures.</p></div

Additional file 1: of Congenital limb deficiency in Japan: a cross-sectional nationwide survey on its epidemiology

Numbers of Total, Surveyed, and Responded Departments, and Breakdown of Responded Departments by Numbers of Reported Patients. This is the raw data used in the first survey of this study. (XLSX 12 kb

The Italy–Japan workshop: A history of bilateral cooperation, pushing the boundaries of robotics

This article presents the experience of a longlasting collaboration in robotics between the countries of Japan and Italy. The diversity of the approaches to robotics research and technology in the two countries and, at the same time, the similarity of some social drives for robotics progress have created a stimulus for generating new thinking about robotics. Not only has this occurred at the main participant institutions of Waseda University in Tokyo and Scuola Superiore Sant?Anna in Pisa, Italy, but it has also happened worldwide. The authors present a summary of the Italy-Japan workshops, exploring topics on 1) humanoid robotics, 2) the application of robotics for exploration and rescue, 3) biorobotics, 4) the use of robots in education, 5) the ethics of robotics, 6) robotics for sports, and 7) robotics for the arts. The experience of the workshops represents an example of an open-minded approach to robotics that is grounded on social challenges, explored through multidisciplinary discussion. Such interdisciplinary research efforts deserve to be shared with the international robotics community. Indeed, this approach could be used as a base model to foster further international collaborations among countries as well

Association between the Extent of Peripheral Blood DNA Methylation of <i>HIF3A</i> and Accumulation of Adiposity in community-dwelling Women: The Yakumo Study

DNA methylation in the CpG sites of intron 1 of HIF3A is associated with body mass index (BMI). This cross-sectional study investigated correlations between DNA methylation of HIF3A and BMI or adiposity parameters in the Japanese population. DNA methylation of HIF3A was quantified via pyrosequencing. DNA methylation of HIF3A differed only in women; DNA methylation level at cg27146050 was associated with visceral adipose tissue thickness and correlated with BMI and percent (%) body fat after excluding smokers. Peripheral blood DNA methylation at the CpG site (cg27146050) of HIF3A correlated with VAT thickness in Japanese women.</p