Effect of Ammonium Salts on the Solvent Extraction of Some Transition Metals with Liquid Cation Exchangers

The extractions of some transition metal ions from an ammoniacal solution with di-(2-ethyl hexyl) phosphoric acid and Versatic Acid 911 diluted in benzene were investigated in order to clarify the effect of ammonia on the solvent extraction. As regards the result, the extraction of these metals with D2EHPA was not affected by ammonia, while the extraction with Versatic Acid 911 was considerably affected. These results were discussed by the average ligand number of metal ammine complexes. Theoretical consideration on the solvent extraction in the presence of ammonia was performed to predict the extent of interference on the solvent extraction by the formation of metal ammine complexes in the aqueous phase. The results of this consideration were in good accordance with the experimental results of copper and zinc extraction, and were in near coincidence with the experimental results of nickel and cobalt extraction. However, there was no coincidence between the results of the theoretical consideration and the experimental results of cadmium extraction

Prostaglandin F 2 ␣, but Not Latanoprost, Increases the Ca 2؉ Sensitivity of the Pig Iris Sphincter Muscle

PURPOSE. To determine the mechanisms underlying prostaglandin (PG) F 2 ␣-, carbachol (CCh)-, or latanoprost (a PGF 2 ␣ analogue)-induced contraction of the pig iris sphincter muscle. METHODS. Effects of these agents on myofilament Ca 2ϩ sensitivity were evaluated and compared with the use of receptorcoupled permeabilized preparations by ␣-toxin. The effects of PGF 2 ␣ and CCh on the phosphorylation of myosin light chain (MLC) were also analyzed. RESULTS. In the intact strips, all three of these agents induced contractions. CONCLUSIONS. PGF 2 ␣, but not latanoprost, induced Ca 2ϩ sensitization of the pig iris sphincter muscle in an MLC phosphorylation-dependent manner through the rho-rho kinase pathway. The effect of latanoprost on the Ca 2ϩ sensitization mechanism was different from that of PGF 2 ␣ and was thought to play a beneficial role in glaucoma treatment. (Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci

Effects of teaching motor skills to others on the persistence of motor learning

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of teaching motor skills to others on the survivability of motor learning effects. 20 healthy adults were randomly assigned to two conditions a teaching conditions and reading a magazine condition (control conditions). The number of times of turning was measured before and after each condition. In both conditions, the number of ball rotations and the number of improvements increased 30 minutes after the task was completed compared to before the task. Additionally, the number of improvements in ball rotation was significantly higher in the teaching condition than in the control condition. In the teaching condition, the number of ball turnings significantly increased 30 minutes after the end of the condition compared to before the condition. These results suggested that task for teaching motor skill to others might be useful for improving motor learning

Diffuse Intervertebral Disk Calcification in a Patient with Rheumatoid Arthritis

A patient with seronegative rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who presented with intervertebral disk calcification (IDC) of several thoracic and lumbar intervertebral disks is herein described. There was no evidence of any other coexisting diseases such as ochronosis and hemochromatosis, but a remarkable degree of polyclonal hypergammaglobulinemia was observed as a notable finding. Although the appearance of IDC on T1-weighted images on magnetic resonance is controversal, no increased signal intensity was observed in our patient. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of IDC in RA

Polarization characteristics of phase retardation defect mode lasing in polymeric cholesteric liquid crystals

We have studied the lasing characteristics of a dye-doped nematic layer sandwiched by two polymeric cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) films as photonic band gap (PBG) materials. The nematic layer acts as a defect layer, the anisotropy of which brings about the following remarkable optical characteristics: (1) reflectance in the PBG region exceeds 50% due to the retardation effect, being unpredictable from a single CLC film; (2) efficient lasing occurs either at the defect mode wavelength or at the photonic band edge; and (3) the lasing emission due to both the defect mode and the photonic band edge mode contains both right- and left-circular polarizations, while the lasing emission from a dye-doped single CLC layer with a left-handed helix is left-circularly polarized.open2

Strategies of Impoliteness in Japanese Spontaneous Talks

If, on the one hand, Japanese language, with its richness of marked allomorphs used for honorifics, has been considered one of the most attractive languages to investigate the phenomenon of politeness, on the other hand, a very small number of studies have been devoted to Japanese impoliteness, most of them limited to BBSs’ (Bulletin Board System) chats on Internet. Interestingly, Japanese native speakers declare, in general, that their language has a very limited number of offensive expressions and that ‘impoliteness’ is not a characteristic of their mother tongue. I tried to analyse some samples of spontaneous conversations taken from YouTube and other multimedia repertoires, in order to detect the main strategies used in Japanese real conversations to cause offence or to show a threatening attitude toward the partner’s face. It seems possible to state that, notwithstanding the different ‘cultural’ peculiarities, impoliteness shows, also in Japanese, a set of strategies common to other languages and that impoliteness, in terms of morphology, is not a mirror counterpart of keigo

Safety analysis of two different regimens of uracil–tegafur plus leucovorin as adjuvant chemotherapy for high-risk stage II and III colon cancer in a phase III trial comparing 6 with 18 months of treatment: JFMC33-0502 trial

PURPOSE: The JFMC33-0502 trial is a phase III clinical study designed to determine the most appropriate duration of postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy with uracil–tegafur (UFT) plus leucovorin in patients with stage IIB or III colon cancer. We report the interim results of preplanned safety analyses. METHODS: Patients with stage IIB or III colon cancer who had undergone curative resection were randomly assigned to receive UFT (300 mg/m(2)) plus leucovorin (75 mg/day) for 6 months (control group, 4 weeks of treatment followed by a 1-week rest, five courses) or for 18 months (study group, 5 days of treatment followed by a 2-day rest, 15 courses). Treatment status and safety were evaluated. RESULTS: A total of 1,071 patients were enrolled, and 1,063 were included in safety analyses. Treatment completion rate at 6 months was 74.0 % in the control group and 76.7 % in the study group. Treatment completion rate in the study group at 18 months was 56.0 %. The overall incidence of adverse events (AEs) was 75.3 % in the control group and 77.6 % in the study group. The incidences of grade 3 or higher AEs were low in both groups. During the first 6 months, the incidences of the subjective AEs were significantly lower in the study group. CONCLUSIONS: Oral UFT plus leucovorin given by either dosage schedule is a very safe regimen for adjuvant chemotherapy. In particular, 5 days of treatment followed by a 2-day rest was a useful treatment option from the viewpoint of toxicity even when given for longer than 6 months. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00280-014-2461-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users