Easy preparation of graphite-containing gel electrolytes using a gelator and characterization of their electrochemical properties

Cyclo(L-beta-3,7-dimethyloctylasparaginyl-L-phenylalanyl) was used as a gelator to synthesize gel electrolytes using 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate, propylene carbonate (PC), and -butyrolactone in 1M LiBF4. Gel strengths and thermal stabilities were studied with regard to the effect of graphite as a helper additive. Ionic conductivities, activation energies for ionic conductivity, and the electrochemical stabilities of the graphite-containing gel electrolytes were studied.ArticleSOFT MATERIALS.15(3):214-221(2017)journal articl

Pole Exercise on Thorax Cage and its Influence on the Flexibility in Low Back-pain Patients

Background: Low back pain (LBP) has been common clinical and neuromusculoskeletal disorders. Authors have continued clinical practice and research concerning LBP and rehabilitation, associated with the efficacy of pole exercise movement and application. Methods: Subjects were 18 LBP patients with 46.6 ± 5.8 years old. They were randomly assigned to two groups, which are pole exercise and control groups. Group 1 continued axial rotation, lateral bending and forward/backward rotation along Moriyasu method 10 times 3 sets per day for 2 weeks. Group 2 continued Slump Stretching and Gluteus Stretch in the same way. The biomarkers include Finger Floor Distance (FFD) and Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) before and after the intervention. Results: Both groups showed significant improved results in FFD and NRS between before and after the intervention. Group 1 showed significant improved results in FFD and NRS after intervention, which were 5.2 ± 9.4 cm vs. 15.7 ± 7.0 cm, and 3.0 ± 2.1 vs. 5.1 ± 1.3 respectively. Conclusion: The results suggested that continuous daily pole exercise would be effective for improved flexibility and motor function for thorax cage and vertebrae. Further study and comparative evaluation among LBP, pole exercise, FFD and other biomarkers will be expected in the future

Characteristics and behavior of dissolved organic matter in the Kumaki River, Noto Peninsula, Japan

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) in river water was studied to understand the transport behavior of DOM in a small watershed with forest and paddy fields. Field experiments were conducted under normal flow conditions in the Kumaki River, which is located in the central part of the Noto Peninsula in Japan, during the period 2009-2010. The concentrations and structural properties of fulvic acid-like components, which are the major components of DOM, were determined using three-dimensional excitation-emission matrix spectroscopy and high-performance size-exclusion chromatography. The relative fluorescence intensity for fulvic acid-like components at an excitation wavelength of 305-335 nm and an emission wavelength of 425-440 nm increased from the upper forest area to the lower paddy field area and increased seasonally in this river system in the following order: winter, autumn, spring, summer. Fulvic acid-like components with a higher molecular weight were observed in the summer samples. These results suggest that higher precipitation and agricultural activity in the summer season increase the amount of fulvic acid-like components with higher molecular weight that are transported from the watershed into the river. © 2014 The Japanese Society of Limnology

肺における散布性粒状病変の分布パターン : 気道散布性病変と血行散布性病変のX線病理学的研究

The distribution pattern of disseminated small lung nodules was radiologically stud- ied with special reference to the relationship between lesions and the bronchial branching system using inflated and fixed lungs of 6 cases Obtained from autopsy. The bronchogenous spread lesions, which were seen in endobronchial tuberculosis and bronchopneumonia, were located in the centriacinar portion of the secondary lobule. Their distribution patterns were regular and corresponded to the bronchial branching pattern. On the other hand, the hematogenous spread lesions, which were seen in miliary tuberculosis and pulmonary metastasis of carcinoma, had no relation to airway structures. They were randomly distributed regardless of bronchial branching. Recognition of these different distribution patterns is important for evaluating diffuse lung diseases by computed tomography

Deep microbial proliferation at the basalt interface in 33.5–104 million-year-old oceanic crust

The upper oceanic crust is mainly composed of basaltic lava that constitutes one of the largest habitable zones on Earth. However, the nature of deep microbial life in oceanic crust remains poorly understood, especially where old cold basaltic rock interacts with seawater beneath sediment. Here we show that microbial cells are densely concentrated in Fe-rich smectite on fracture surfaces and veins in 33.5- and 104-million-year-old (Ma) subseafloor basaltic rock. The Fe-rich smectite is locally enriched in organic carbon. Nanoscale solid characterizations reveal the organic carbon to be microbial cells within the Fe-rich smectite, with cell densities locally exceeding 1010 cells/cm3. Dominance of heterotrophic bacteria indicated by analyses of DNA sequences and lipids supports the importance of organic matter as carbon and energy sources in subseafloor basalt. Given the prominence of basaltic lava on Earth and Mars, microbial life could be habitable where subsurface basaltic rocks interact with liquid water

北海道とフィンランドのサルコイドーシス : 比較研究の結果

Two comparative Finnish-Japanese sarcoidosis studies were carried out. One study compared the frequencies of sarcoidosis in 1984 in Hokkaido and Finland. We found a significantly and approximately four times higher prevalence and incidence of sarcoidosis in Finland than in Hok kaido ; prevalence 28.2/100,000 in Finland and 7.2/100,000 in Hokkaido ; incidence ll.4/100,000 in Fin land and 2.8/100,000 in Hokkaido, The other study compared the clinical picture and prognosis of sarcoidosis in two large hospital series ; 686 patients in Sapporo and 571 patients in Mjolbolsta, Fin land. The sex ratio was the same with a slight female predominance in both hospitals. The Japanese patients were younger at the time of diagnosis (mean age 30 years in Sapporo compared with 42 years in Mjolbolsta), although 50% of the patients in both series had been detected via rou tine health screening procedures. Among the symptomatic patients the mode of presentation of the disease varied considerably with eye symptoms as the dominating in Sapporo, but with respiratory symptoms and Lofgren\u27s syndrome in Finland. Stage I disease was more frequent in Sapporo, (57% of the patients compared with 48% in Finland) whereas more Finnish patients had parenchymal lesions. Extrapulmonary manifestations of sarcoidosis were more often diagnosed in Sapporo ; main ly because of the eye lesions. The prognosis of pulmonary sarcoidosis in Finland was significantly less favourable than the prognosis of the Japanese patients