Dynamical Pion Production via Parametric Resonance from Disoriented Chiral Condensate

We discuss a dynamical mechanism of pion production from disoriented chiral condensates (DCC). It leads to an explosive production of pions via the parametric amplification mechanism, which is similar to the reheating mechanism in inflationary cosmology. Classically, it is related with the instability in the solutions of the Mathieu equation and we explore the quantum aspects of the mechanism. We show that nonlinearlities and back reactions can be ignorable for sufficiently long time under the small amplitude approximations of background $\sigma$ oscillations, which may be appropriate for the late stage of nonequilibrium phase transition. It allows us to obtain an explicit quantum state of the produced pions and $\sigma$, the squeezed state of BCS type. Single particle distributions and two-pion correlation functions are computed within these approximations. The results obtained illuminate the characteristic features of multi-pion states produced through the parametric amplification mechanism. In particular, two-pion correlations of various charge combinations contain back-to-back correlations which cannot be masked by the identical particle interference effect.Comment: REVTEX 18 pages and 10 figure

The Japanese Clinical Practice Guideline for acute kidney injury 2016

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a syndrome which has a broad range of etiologic factors depending on different clinical settings. Because AKI has significant impacts on prognosis in any clinical settings, early detection and intervention are necessary to improve the outcomes of AKI patients. This clinical guideline for AKI was developed by a multidisciplinary approach with nephrology, intensive care medicine, blood purification, and pediatrics. Of note, clinical practice for AKI management which was widely performed in Japan was also evaluated with comprehensive literature search

Observations of airborne Cryptomeria japonica pollen in the summer

ABSTRACTBackground: Airborne Cryptomeria japonica pollen has been detected from July to September, after the main pollen dispersal season (during florescence), in Toyama and Niigata prefectures, Japan.Methods: To identify the source of the pollen, two possible pathways were investigated: (i) secondary pollen dispersal from the ground; and (ii) release from male flowers remaining on the tree crown in C. japonica forests.Results: Secondary pollen dispersal from the ground ceased just after the main pollen dispersal season ended. However, male flowers remained on the crown until the end of September and released significant amounts of pollen, which contained as much allergenic Cry j 1 as normal pollen dispersed during the spring. There is a significant positive correlation between airborne pollen counts in the spring (February-May) and summer (June-September).Conclusions: These results indicate that the main sources of airborne pollen grains during the summer are male flowers remaining on the tree crown after their florescence

Incidence of myeloperoxidase anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody positivity and microscopic polyangitis in the course of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

SummaryBackgroundPulmonary fibrosis is a manifestation of microscopic polyangitis (MPA), and often precedes the detection of MPA. The prevalence and sequence of myeloperoxidase anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (MPO-ANCA) and MPA in patients initially diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) have not been precisely elucidated.MethodsWe enrolled 61 consecutive patients with IPF and measured the MPO-ANCA titers at initial presentation and during the follow-up period. Clinical, radiologic and histologic features of MPO-ANCA-positive cases were examined.ResultsOf 61 patients, 3 (4.9%) had positive MPO-ANCA titers at the initial presentation of IPF. During the disease course, MPO-ANCA-positive conversion occurred in 6 patients and the prevalence of ANCA increased to 14.8%. Among the nine patients positive for MPO-ANCA, two patients developed MPA during follow-up. Histologic features of MPO-ANCA-positive pulmonary fibrosis were compatible with the usual interstitial pneumonia pattern in which alveolar hemorrhage and capillaritis were not observed. The patients with MPO-ANCA-positive conversion showed increased percentages of bronchoalveolar lavage eosinophils and more frequent complication of pulmonary emphysema compared to those with MPO-ANCA-negative IPF.ConclusionsThe findings of the present study demonstrated that patients with an initial diagnosis of IPF occasionally acquire MPO-ANCA, which develops to MPA during the disease course of IPF. The presence of pulmonary eosinophilia and low attenuation areas on computed tomography scans might be predictive of MPO-ANCA positive conversion