Biospheric context of Siberian development

Productivity of ecosystems surrounding a city is important for supporting its activities in a sustainable way. The total terrestrial net primary production (NPP) shows biosphere potential to supply primary food energy source for all non-autotrophic species including humans. Humans appropriate approximately 20% of NPP, in average. Even in the relatively well-populated regions of Siberia, NPP per capita exceeds the average level by several times suggesting the window of opportunity for achieving sustainable development. (3 pages, 1086 words, 2 maps)
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Biospheric context of Siberian development

Recent publications on human appropriation of Net Primary Production (NPP) raise the question of how much of the biosphere’s productivity we can appropriate in a sustainable way. This article brings the issue into the context of Siberian development. In contrast to many other regions of the world, the population density in Siberia is still very low as compared to the NPP supplied by regional ecosystems. Hence, it is not too late to raise the question on how much of the NPP supplied by Siberian ecosystems we can appropriate in a sustainable way

Thrombocytopenia in Preterm Infants with Intrauterine Growth Restriction

Sick preterm infants often have thrombocytopenia at birth, and this is often associated with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), or birth weights less than the 10th percentile. The pathogenesis of the thrombocytopenia and its importance in IUGR are still unclear. We studied the characteristics of preterm IUGR infants with thrombocytopenia. Twenty-seven singleton Japanese preterm IUGR infants were born between January 2002 and June 2007 at Okayama University Hospital. Infants with malformation, chromosomal abnormalities, alloimmune thrombocytopenia, sepsis, and maternal aspirin ingestion were excluded. The infants were divided into group A (n&#65309;8), which had thrombocytopenia within 72h after birth, and group B (n&#65309;19), which did not. There were significant differences in birth weight, head circumference, umbilical artery (UA)-pulsatility index (PI), middle cerebral artery-PI, UA-pH, UA-pO2, and UA-pCO2. The infants in group A were smaller, had abnormal blood flow patterns, and were hypoxic at birth. We speculate that the infants with thrombocytopenia were more severely growth-restricted by chronic hypoxia. Thrombocytopenia is an important parameter for chronic hypoxia in the uterine.</p

On the Formation of Striation-Type Substructure in Copper Crystals

The striation formation in copper crystals grown at the rate of 1 mm/min by the horizontal zone melting method was studied by a dislocation etch pit technique. It was found that the formation of striations depended upon the crystallographic orientation, the density and distribution of dislocations in a seed crystal and the axial temperature gradient. The [110] crystals showed a marked tendency to develop the striations, while the [111] and [100] crystals exhibited ordinarily a weak tendency of the striation formation. In the latter two crystals, the inoculation with seed crystals which were, slightly damaged could result in growing the striated crystals, while no striations were formed when the seed crystals were not damaged. With a low dislocation density seed, the striations were not formed in the [111] crystal grown under a low axial temperature gradient, though a fine network of subboundaries appeared. On the other hand, the striations were formed after an incubation distance of 1 cm when the [111] crystal was grown under the same thermal conditions but with a high dislocation density seed crystal containing a fine network of subboundaries. However, under a high axial temperature gradient, no striations were built up, even if the crystal was grown with a high dislocation density seed crystal. Observations of the dislocation etch pits revealed that the striations were formed when the coalescence of small angle tilt boundaries, which arranged closely in parallel, occurred

Contents of the Digital Natural History Museum of Hiroshima University, especially in the field of biology

広島大学デジタル自然史博物館は，広島大学の開学以来長年にわたって蓄積された教育・研究に関する知的資産を外部に公開し，生涯学習や学校教育のために活用することを目的として設置されている。デジタル自然史博物館には生物学や地学とそれに関係する資料が含まれる。特徴のあるコンテンツとしてはコケ植物や世界遺産宮島に関するものがあげられる。コンテンツの大部分は日本語であり，アクセス数は2015年度以降増加傾向にある。今後，現在進めているMediaWiki を使ったシステムへの移行を進めるとともに，コンテンツの充実やICT を使った学習への対応，運用母体の強化などを通じて，教育・研究のためだけでなく地域貢献のためのリソースとして発展させる計画である。The Digital Natural History Museum of Hiroshima University is a cluster of web sites for dissemination and practical use of educational and research resources for lifelong learning as well as school education in collaboration with laboratories and centers of Hiroshima University, Japan. The museum site includes contents on biological, environmental and earth sciences, mainly in Japanese with some English, especially bryophytes and the world heritage listed Itsukushima (Miyajima) Island, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. Online site access has increased since 2015. The museum site is now transferring the html based system to the MediaWiki system which is a free and open-source wiki software. For regional studies we plan to expand significantly the content of available resources to enable greater use and ease of access through information and communication technology (ICT)

Changes in serum anti-Müllerian hormone levels may predict damage to residual normal ovarian tissue after laparoscopic surgery for women with ovarian endometrioma.

We measured serum anti-Müllerian hormone levels before and after surgery in women undergoing unilateral and monolocular cystectomy for benign ovarian diseases. Comparing to control benign cysts, we found a significant decline in serum anti-Müllerian hormone levels with consequent depletion of follicles in tissue specimens after surgery for women with ovarian endometrioma

A preliminary list of the vascular plants of Higashi-hiroshima Campus, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima Pref., SW Japan <Data>

広島大学東広島キャンパスは広島県西条盆地の中央部に位置し，その敷地内には様々な植物が生育している。キャンパス内の維管束植物に関しては学内誌などに断片的に紹介されてきたが，1995年の移転完了後，網羅的な植物相の調査は行われていない。本稿ではキャンパス内の植物相の現状を把握するため，文献および生態実験園とぶどう池周辺を中心に行った調査にもとづいて，東広島キャンパスの維管束植物目録（101科210属286種）をまとめた。A preliminary list of the vascular plants of Higashi-hiroshima Campus in Hiroshima University (Hiroshima Pref., SW Japan) was reported based on own field researches and previous reports. A total of 286 native, naturalized and garden species, including infraspecific taxa, were recorded

地域在住自立高齢者を対象にした体力測定会への参加希望者における閉じこもりリスクと孤独感との関連

　Purpose：This study was conducted for the purpose of examining the risk of becoming homebound and the correlation of loneliness in the community-dwelling older adults volunteering to participate in a physical f itness measurement program．　Method：The subjects of this study consisted of 638 older adults dwelling in Kameoka City who volunteered to participate in a physical fitness measurement program in 2012 and desired also to participate in a similar program held roughly one year and a half years later．A survey was conducted in the form of a questionnaire survey that was mailed to the subjects．The contents of the survey consisted of questions relating to gender，age，household composition，frequency of meetings with separately dwelling family members，number of neighbors they can rely on，tasks within the home，presence of a hobby，participation in group activities，subjective view of health，subjective physical strength，risk of depression，risk of becoming homebound，assessment using the Japanese language version of the UCLA loneliness scale（ 3rd edition）（ to be simply referred to as ""loneliness""） and assessment using the Life Satisfaction Index K（ to be abbreviated as LSIK）．Analyses consisted of an intergroup comparison of loneliness scores for each parameter．This was followed by an analysis of covariance using those parameters for which there was a correlation with loneliness as covariates in order to examine the correlation between risk of becoming homebound and loneliness．　Results：539 of the subjects submitted valid responses to the survey （response rate：84.5%）．The analysis of the risk of becoming homebound indicated that 20 subjects were homebound（ 3.7%），90 subjects were at risk of becoming homebound （16.7%） and 429 subjects were not homebound （79.6%）． According to the results of an intergroup comparison of loneliness scores for each survey parameter，signif icant differences（ p ＜0.001） were observed for gender，number of neighbors the subjects can rely on，subjective view of health，subjective physical strength，risk of depression， tasks within the home，presence of a hobby，participation in group activities and LSIK score． The average loneliness scores of each risk of becoming homebound were 36.2 ± 8.9 in the nonhomebound group，41.9 ± 9.8 in the group at risk of becoming homebound，and 45.8 ± 8.7 in the homebound group，with scores becoming higher as the tendency to become homebound worsened． The correlation between the two was such that significant differences （ p =0.007） were observed when the above parameters were used as covariates，and loneliness was greater in the group at risk of becoming homebound than in the non-homebound group（ p =0.047）．　Discussion：This study demonstrated that persons at risk of becoming homebound are present even among relatively healthy older adults expressing a strong desire to continue to participate in physical f itness measurement programs like the subjects of this study，and that there is already a strong sense of loneliness among subjects of the group at risk of becoming homebound． Efforts to eliminate this sense of loneliness targeted at older adults at risk of becoming homebound who are already demonstrating a decrease in frequency of leaving their homes are expected to lead to effective countermeasures for preventing these persons from becoming homebound．　目　的：地域在住自立高齢者を対象とした体力測定会への参加希望者における閉じこもりリスクの程度と孤独感との関連を明らかにすることを目的とした。　方　法：亀岡市在住高齢者で2012 年の体力測定会に参加し，その約1 年半後の体力測定会に参加を希望した638 名を対象とした。調査は郵送法による質問紙調査を行った。質問項目は性別，年齢，世帯構成，別居家族と会う頻度，近所に頼れる人の人数，家庭内の仕事，趣味の有無，グループ活動への参加，主観的健康感，主観的体力，うつのリスク，閉じこもりリスク，日本語版UCLA 孤独感尺度（第3 版）（以下，孤独感），生活満足度尺度K（以下，LSIK）である。分析は各調査項目において孤独感得点の群間比較を行った。次に，孤独感と関連のあった項目を共変量とした共変量分散分析を行い，閉じこもりリスクと孤独感の関連を明らかにした。　結　果：有効回答者539 名（有効回答率84.5%）であった。閉じこもりリスクの分布は，閉じこもり群20 名（3.7%），閉じこもり予備群90 名（16.7%），非閉じこもり群429 名（79.6%）であった。調査項目ごとの孤独感得点の群間比較では性別，近所に頼れる人の人数，主観的健康感，主観的体力，うつのリスク，家庭内の仕事，趣味の有無，グループ活動への参加，LSIK に有意差が認められた（ p ＜ 0.001）。閉じこもりリスク別の孤独感得点の平均は，非閉じこもり群36.2 ± 8.9 点，閉じこもり予備群41.9 ± 9.8点，閉じこもり群45.8 ± 8.7 点と閉じこもり傾向に伴い高まった。両者の関連では先の項目を共変量としても有意差があり（ p =0.007），閉じこもり予備群の孤独感が非閉じこもり群に比べて有意に高かった（ p =0.047）。　考　察：体力測定会に継続参加可能な意欲の高い比較的健康な高齢者においても，閉じこもりリスク保有者が存在し閉じこもり予備群で孤独感が高いことが示された。閉じこもり予備群のうちから，孤独感を解消させるような働きかけを行うことが閉じこもり予防対策につながると期待される。原

PainVision Apparatus Is Effective for Assessing Low Back Pain

Study DesignCase series.PurposeTo determine the utility of "PainVision" apparatus for the assessment of low back pain.Overview of LiteratureA newly developed device, the PainVision PS-2100 (Nipro, Osaka, Japan), has been used to assess the perception of pain in a quantitative manner. In the current study, we aimed to evaluate the efficacy of PainVision for the assessment of low back pain.MethodsWe assessed 89 patients with low back pain. The numeric rating scale (NRS) score, McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ) score and the degree of pain calculated by PainVision were measured twice at 4-week intervals in each patient. An electrode was patched on the forearm surface of the patients and the degree of pain was automatically calculated (degree of pain=100×[current producing pain comparable with low back pain-current at perception threshold/current at perception threshold]). Correlations between NRS and MPQ scores and the degree of pain were determined using Spearman's rank correlation test.ResultsThere was a strong correlation between the NRS and MPQ scores at each time point (rs=0.60, p<0.0001). The degree of pain also showed a moderate correlation with NRS and MPQ scores at each time point (rs=0.40, p<0.03). The change in the degree of pain over 4 weeks showed a moderate correlation with changes in the NRS and MPQ scores (rs=0.40, p<0.01).ConclusionsPainVision as self-reported questionnaires is a useful tool to assess low back pain