Left orderings on inductive limits of amalgamated free products

We study left orderings on countably generated groups. In particular, we construct left orderings of inductive limits of amalgamated free products by using isolated left orderings of the groups appearing in the inductive system. Moreover, we show that they are no longer isolated orderings

Increased Mortality of Respiratory Diseases, Including Lung Cancer, in the Area with Large Amount of Ashfall from Mount Sakurajima Volcano

Objectives. Mount Sakurajima in Japan is one of the most active volcanoes in the world. This work was conducted to examine the effect of volcanic ash on the chronic respiratory disease mortality in the vicinity of Mt. Sakurajima. Methods. The present work examined the standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) of respiratory diseases during the period 1968–2002 in Sakurajima town and Tarumizu city, where ashfall from the volcano recorded more than 10.000 g/m2/yr on average in the 1980s. Results. The SMR of lung cancer in the Sakurajima-Tarumizu area was 1.61 (95% CI = 1.44–1.78) for men and 1.67 (95% CI = 1.39–1.95) for women while it was nearly equal to one in Kanoya city, which neighbors Tarumizu city but located at the further position from Mt. Sakurajima, and therefore has much smaller amounts of ashfall. Sakurajima-Tarumizu area had elevated SMRs for COPDs and acute respiratory diseases while Kanoya did not. Conclusions. Cristobalite is the most likely cause of the increased deaths from those chronic respiratory diseases since smoking is unlikely to explain the increased mortality of respiratory diseases among women since the proportion of smokers in Japanese women is less than 20%, and SPM levels in the Sakurajima-Tarumizu area were not high. Further studies seem warranted

Orange Organic Long-persistent Luminescence from an Electron Donor/Acceptor Binary System

Organic long-persistent luminescence (LPL) materials can overcome the disadvantages of inorganic LPL materials in terms of element sustainability, processability, and color tunability. However, all published electron donor/acceptor binary organic LPL systems show green emission. Here, we report an organic LPL system consisting of N,N,N\u27,N\u27-tetrakis(p-diisobutylaminophenyl)-p-phenylenediamine (TBAPD) as a donor dopant and 2,8-bis(diphenylphosphoryl)dibenzo[b,d]thiophene (PPT) as an acceptor host. The TBAPD/PPT film exhibits orange photoluminescence (CIEx, CIEy = 0.49, 0.49) and LPL (CIEx, CIEy = 0.51, 0.48)

Influence of energy gap between charge-transfer and locally excited states on organic long persistence luminescence

Organic long-persistent luminescence (LPL) is an organic luminescence system that slowly releases stored exciton energy as light. Organic LPL materials have several advantages over inorganic LPL materials in terms of functionality, flexibility, transparency, and solution-processability. However, the molecular selection strategies for the organic LPL system still remain unclear. Here we report that the energy gap between the lowest localized triplet excited state and the lowest singlet charge-transfer excited state in the exciplex system significantly controls the LPL performance. Changes in the LPL duration and spectra properties are systematically investigated for three donor materials having a different energy gap. When the energy level of the lowest localized triplet excited state is much lower than that of the charge-transfer excited state, the system exhibits a short LPL duration and clear two distinct emission features originating from exciplex fluorescence and donor phosphorescence

Comparison of conservative treatment versus transcatheter arterial embolisation for the treatment of spontaneously ruptured hepatocellular carcinoma

Purpose: To elucidate the prognostic factors in the spontaneous rupture of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and to determine whether transcatheter arterial embolisation (TAE) is associated with better prognosis compared to conservative treatment. Material and methods: A retrospective multicentre study was conducted involving 71 patients with spontaneous rupture of HCC. A conservative treatment group (Cons T group) included 20 patients, while a transcatheter arterial embolisation group (TAE group) included 51 patients. Results: The median survival time (MST) in the Cons T group was only 16 days and the survival rate was 39% at one month, whereas the MST in the TAE group was 28 days and the one month survival rate was 63%. However, there is no statistically significant difference in the overall survival between Cons T and TAE groups (p = 0.213). Multivariable analysis identified only the presence of distant metastasis as an independent prognostic factor (p = 0.023). A subanalysis including patients without distant metastasis showed that the presence of portal vein tumour thrombosis was a significant prognostic factor (p = 0.015). Conclusions: Distant metastasis appears to be a prognostic factor in spontaneous rupture of HCC. In cases without distant metastasis, portal vein tumour thrombosis could influence the prognosis. Our data failed to prove any benefit of TAE as the primary management

Insider out : Cross-national differences in foreign-born female labor force participation in the United States, Sweden, and Japan

Author's accepted version (postprint). This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Sage in International Migration Review on 15/6/2023. Available online: https://doi.org/10.1177/01979183221133319acceptedVersio

Pharmacological Effects and Utility as a Food Additive of Calcium Alginate

Here we review the physiological effects of the calcium salt of alginate (Ca-Alg), focusing on our own work. First, we found that Ca-Alg promotes the excretion and decreases the absorption of various metals, and does so more effectively than sodium alginate (Na-Alg). Ca-Alg also reduced plasma cholesterol (Cho) in rats fed a high-Cho diet for 2 weeks. This was considered to be due to reduced intestinal reabsorption of bile acid, resulting from the binding of Ca-Alg and bile acid; this induces an increase of bile acid synthesis from Cho in the liver, leading to a decrease in Cho in plasma. The increase of blood triglyceride (TG) levels in rats fed a high-fat diet for 5 weeks was significantly suppressed by Ca-Alg, leading to decreased fat accumulation in the liver and whole body. Ca-Alg in food was also effective in suppressing the postprandial increase of blood glucose level in rats and humans. An in vitro study suggested that Ca-Alg inhibits the interaction between α-glucosidase and its substrate maltose. In conclusion, Ca-Alg has a number of beneficial effects as a functional food ingredient, and is expected to be a safe and effective food additive for long-term use