THE INFLUENCE OF BASEBALL PITCHING ON THE HARDNESS OF THE FLEXOR PRONATOR MUSCLES - USING ULTRASOUND REALTIME TISSUE ELASTGRAPHY

The purpose of this study was to examine changes of the individual hardness of the flexor - pronator muscle group after pitching. The twelve normal male volunteers who had played baseball participated in this study. One hundred pitches were performed, and the individual flexor pronator muscles hardness were analyzed using ultrasound real time tissue elastgraphy (RTE) both before and after 100 pitching. The hardness of the flexor pronator muscles were not significant different between before and after pitching. However, hardness of the most hardened muscle was significantly different between before and after pitching. Therefore RTE is useful method to manage of the pitching counts in pitchers who performed athletic rehabilitation after throwing injuries

Finding Euroscaptor mizura (Mammalia : Insectivora) and Its Nest from under Hebeloma radicosum (Fungi : Agaricales) in Ashiu, Kyoto, with Data of Possible Contiguous Occurrences of Three Talpine Species in This Region

We examined nests and other traces of moles in Ashiu, Kyoto, beneath fruit bodies of a mushroom species, Hebeloma radicosum, which grows on the underground latrines of small mammals. We also attempted to catch animals at nesting sites which were detected through the fungal fruiting. As a result, an adult specimen of a talpine mole species, Euroscaptor mizura, was collected together with its nest. This is the first record of E. mizura from Ashiu region. Also, this is the first report of the nest of E. mizura, of the mushroom-mole nest association in H. radicosum and E. mizura, and of the capture of a mole at the nesting site under indication of the fungus. Morphological features of the animal and structure of the nest are described. This finding further revealed a contiguousness in the distribution of three talpine species, E. mizura, Mogera wogura and Mogera kobeae in Ashiu

Interface and oxide trap states of SiO2/GaN metal–oxide–semiconductor capacitors and their effects on electrical properties evaluated by deep level transient spectroscopy

The relationship between the electrical properties and the carrier trap properties of the SiO2/GaN metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) capacitors was investigated using electrical measurements and deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS). The capacitance–voltage (C–V) measurement showed that the frequency dispersion of the C–V curves became smaller after an 800 °C annealing in O2 ambient. DLTS revealed that before the annealing, the interface trap states, in a broad energy range above the midgap of GaN, were detected with the higher interface state density at around 0.3 and 0.9 eV below the conduction band minimum (Ec) of GaN. Moreover, the oxide trap states were formed at around 0.1 eV below the Ec of GaN, plausibly indicating a slow electron trap with a tunneling process. Although both trap states affect the electrical reliability and insulating property of the SiO2/GaN MOS capacitors, they were found to drastically decrease after the annealing, leading to the improvement of the electrical properties.Shingo Ogawa, Hidetoshi Mizobata, Takuma Kobayashi, Takayoshi Shimura, Heiji Watanabe; Interface and oxide trap states of SiO2/GaN metal–oxide–semiconductor capacitors and their effects on electrical properties evaluated by deep level transient spectroscopy. J. Appl. Phys. 7 September 2023; 134 (9): 095704. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.016589

Relations of nostalgia with music to emotional response and recall of autobiographical memory

Previous researches suggest that musical mood and preferences affects on emotional response, and that context of music also affects on musical-dependent memory. We often feel 'nostalgia' when listening to old familiar tunes. Nostalgia is related to eliciting positive emotions, recall of autobiographical memory and positive evaluations for recall contents. The present study aimed to examine effects of musical mood, preference and nostalgia on emotional responses, the amounts of recall of autobiographical memory, and evaluations to contents of them. Participants were 50 undergraduates. They were presented with 4 music pieces that have listened when they were about ten-years-old. All participants listened to all pieces. As the results, the influences of nostalgia elicited greater positive emotion and amounts of recall of autobiographical memory than musical mood and musical preference. Regardless of musical mood and preference, the more feeling nostalgia, the more elicits positive emotion and autobiographical memory recall

Morphological and Histopathological Changes in Orofacial Structures of Experimentally Developed Acromegaly-Like Rats: An Overview

Tongue enlargement and mandibular prognathism are clinically recognized in almost all patients with acromegaly. An acromegaly-like rat model recently developed by exogenous administration of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) was used to investigate morphological and histopathological changes in orofacial structures and to clarify whether these changes were reversible. Exogenous administration of IGF-I evoked specific enlargement of the tongue with identifiable histopathological changes (increased muscle bundle width, increased space between muscle bundles, and increased epithelial thickness), elongation of the mandibular alveolar bone and ascending ramus, and lateral expansion of the mandibular dental arch. Regarding histopathological changes in the mandibular condyle, the cartilaginous layer width, bone matrix ratio, and number of osteoblasts were all significantly greater in this rat model. After normalization of the circulating IGF-I level, tongue enlargement and histopathological changes in the tongue and mandibular condyle were reversible, whereas morphological skeletal changes in the mandible remained

Element Stratification in the Middle-Aged Type Ia Supernova Remnant G344.7-0.1

Despite their importance, a detailed understanding of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) remains elusive. X-ray measurements of the element distributions in supernova remnants (SNRs) offer important clues for understanding the explosion and nucleosynthesis mechanisms for SNe Ia. However, it is challenging to observe the entire ejecta mass in X-rays for young SNRs, because the central ejecta may not have been heated by the reverse shock yet. Here we present over 200 kilosecond Chandra observations of the Type Ia SNR G344.7-0.1, whose age is old enough for the reverse shock to have reached the SNR center, providing an opportunity to investigate the distribution of the entire ejecta mass. We reveal a clear stratification of heavy elements with a centrally peaked distribution of the Fe ejecta surrounded by intermediate-mass elements (IMEs: Si, S, Ar Ca) with an arc-like structure. The centroid energy of the Fe K emission is marginally lower in the central Fe-rich region than in the outer IME-rich regions, suggesting that the Fe ejecta were shock-heated more recently. These results are consistent with the prediction for standard SN Ia models, where the heavier elements are synthesized in the interior of an exploding white dwarf. We find, however, that the peak location of the Fe K emission is slightly offset to the west with respect to the geometric center of the SNR. This apparent asymmetry is likely due to the inhomogeneous density distribution of the ambient medium, consistent with our radio observations of the ambient molecular and neutral gas.Comment: 16 pages, 10 figures, Accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journa

Interplay between Structure and Electronic Properties in Organic Conductors

It is known that the ground states of organic conductors have a diversity reflecting the spatial arrangement of the constituent molecules within the unit cell. A systematic theoretical search for the unifying view behind such possible ground states has been made based on the Hartree-Fock mean field approximation not only to the on-site but also to intersite Coulomb interactions with special emphasis on the families of typical organic conductors (TMTCF)$_2X$ and (ET)$_2X$.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, proceedings of LT22 (Helsinki, Finland, August 4-11, 1999

Dirac Electrons in Molecular Solids

Electrons in solids are characterized by the energy bands, which indicate that electrons are considered to be "elementary particles" with specific effective masses and g-factors reflecting features of each solid. There are cases where these particles obey dispersion relationship similar to those of Dirac electrons. Examples include graphite and bismuth both of which are known for many years, together with graphene, a single layer of graphite, recently addressed intensively after its realization. Another recent example is a molecular solid, alpha-ET2I3, which is described by an equation similar to Weyl equation with massless Dirac cones but the coordinate axis is tilted because of the location of cones at off-symmetry points. Orbital susceptibility of such Dirac electrons in graphite and bismuth has been known to have striking features not present in ordinary band electrons but resulting from the inter-band matrix elements of magnetic field. Results of theoretical studies on not only orbital susceptibility but also Hall effect of such Dirac electrons in molecular solids with tilting are introduced in this paper.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure