Quantum-number projection in the path-integral renormalization group method

We present a quantum-number projection technique which enables us to exactly treat spin, momentum and other symmetries embedded in the Hubbard model. By combining this projection technique, we extend the path-integral renormalization group method to improve the efficiency of numerical computations. By taking numerical calculations for the standard Hubbard model and the Hubbard model with next nearest neighbor transfer, we show that the present extended method can extremely enhance numerical accuracy and that it can handle excited states, in addition to the ground state.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Precise estimation of shell model energy by second order extrapolation method

A second order extrapolation method is presented for shell model calculations, where shell model energies of truncated spaces are well described as a function of energy variance by quadratic curves and exact shell model energies can be obtained by the extrapolation. This new extrapolation can give more precise energy than those of first order extrapolation method. It is also clarified that first order extrapolation gives a lower limit of shell model energy. In addition to the energy, we derive the second order extrapolation formula for expectation values of other observables.Comment: PRC in pres

Results of physician licence examination and scholarship contract compliance by the graduates of regional quotas in Japanese medical schools: a nationwide cross-sectional survey

Objectives Responding to the serious shortage of physicians in rural areas, the Japanese government has aggressively increased the number of entrants to medical schools since 2008, mostly as a chiikiwaku, entrants filling a regional quota. The quota has spread to most medical schools, and these entrants occupied 16% of all medical school seats in 2016. Most of these entrants were admitted to medical school with a scholarship with the understanding that after graduation they will practise in designated areas of their home prefectures for several years. The quota and scholarship programmes will be revised by the government starting in 2018. This study evaluates the intermediate outcomes of these programmes. Design Cross-sectional survey to all prefectural governments and medical schools every year from 2014 to 2017 to obtain data on medical graduates. Settings Nationwide. Participants All quota and non-quota graduates with prefecture scholarship in each prefecture, and all the quota graduates without scholarship in each medical school. Primary outcome measures Passing rate of the National License Examination for Physicians and the percentage of graduates who have not bought out the scholarship contract after graduation. Results Most prefectures and medical schools in Japan participated in this study (97.8%–100%). Quota graduates with scholarship were significantly more likely to pass the National License Examination for Physicians than the other medical graduates in Japan at all the years (97.9%, 96.7%, 97.4% and 94.7% vs 93.9%, 94.5%, 94.3% and 91.8%, respectively). The percentage of quota graduates with scholarship who remained in the scholarship contract 3 years after graduation was 92.2% and 89.9% for non-quota graduates with scholarship. Conclusions Quota entrants showed better academic performance than their peers. Most of the quota graduates remained in the contractual workforce. The imminent revision of the national policy regarding quota and scholarship programmes needs to be based on this evidence.This study is funded by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology KAKENHI Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C), Grant Number (25460803)

An extrapolation method for shell model calculations

We propose a new shell model method, combining the Lanczos digonalization and extrapolation method. This method can give accurate shell model energy from a series of shell model calculations with various truncation spaces, in a well-controlled manner. Its feasibility is demonstrated by taking the fp shell calculations.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

[18F]FDG-labelled stem cell PET imaging in different route of administrations and multiple animal species

Stem cell therapy holds great promise for tissue regeneration and cancer treatment, although its efficacy is still inconclusive and requires further understanding and optimization of the procedures. Non-invasive cell tracking can provide an important opportunity to monitor in vivo cell distribution in living subjects. Here, using a combination of positron emission tomography (PET) and in vitro 2-deoxy-2-[18F]fluoro-D-glucose ([18F]FDG) direct cell labelling, the feasibility of engrafted stem cell monitoring was tested in multiple animal species. Human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were incubated with phosphate-buffered saline containing [18F]FDG for in vitro cell radiolabelling. The pre-labelled MSCs were administrated via peripheral vein in a mouse (n=1), rats (n=4), rabbits (n=4) and non-human primates (n=3), via carotid artery in rats (n=4) and non-human primates (n=3), and via intra-myocardial injection in rats (n=5). PET imaging was started 10 min after cell administration using a dedicated small animal PET system for a mouse and rats. A clinical PET system was used for the imaging of rabbits and non-human primates. After MSC administration via peripheral vein, PET imaging revealed intense radiotracer signal from the lung in all tested animal species including mouse, rat, rabbit, and non-human primate, suggesting administrated MSCs were trapped in the lung tissue. Furthermore, the distribution of the PET signal significantly differed based on the route of cell administration. Administration via carotid artery showed the highest activity in the head, and intra-myocardial injection increased signal from the heart. In vitro [18F]FDG MSC pre-labelling for PET imaging is feasible and allows non-invasive visualization of initial cell distribution after different routes of cell administration in multiple animal models. Those results highlight the potential use of that imaging approach for the understanding and optimization of stem cell therapy in translational research

Case report: A case of fetal umbilical vein varix presenting disseminated intravascular coagulation, polycythemia, and neonatal hepatitis in an extremely low birth weight infant

Reports on the clinical course of fetal umbilical vein varix in premature infants are limited. We report a case of an extremely low body weight infant with intra-abdominal umbilical vein varix who developed disseminated intravascular coagulation, polycythemia, and hyperbilirubinemia after birth; late-onset neonatal hepatitis; and fetal thrombotic vasculopathy confirmed by placental histopathology. Ultrasonography after birth showed a dilated portion of the umbilical vein at the hepatic hilum with thrombi inside. We speculate that the umbilical vein varix caused the fetal thrombotic vasculopathy, and the presence of umbilical vein varix and fetal thrombotic vasculopathy in combination with prematurity caused coagulopathy, polycythemia, hyperbilirubinemia, and hepatitis. Despite the favorable outcomes reported in the literature, premature infants with umbilical vein varix may require careful observation and management for coagulopathy and late-onset hepatitis. Furthermore, placental histopathology could aid in the understanding of various clinical outcomes in infants with umbilical vein varices

Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes Regenerated from iPS Cells Have Therapeutic Efficacy in a Patient-Derived Xenograft Solid Tumor Model

Current adoptive T cell therapies conducted in an autologous setting are costly, time consuming, and depend on the quality of the patient's T cells. To address these issues, we developed a strategy in which cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) are regenerated from iPSCs that were originally derived from T cells and succeeded in regenerating CTLs specific for the WT1 antigen, which exhibited therapeutic efficacy in a xenograft model of leukemia. In this study, we extended our strategy to solid tumors. The regenerated WT1-specific CTLs had a strong therapeutic effect in orthotopic xenograft model using a renal cell carcinoma (RCC) cell line. To make our method more generally applicable, we developed an allogeneic approach by transducing HLA-haplotype homozygous iPSCs with WT1-specific TCR α/β genes that had been tested clinically. The regenerated CTLs antigen-specifically suppressed tumor growth in a patient-derived xenograft model of RCC, demonstrating the feasibility of our strategy against solid tumors

Holocene paleolimnological studies of lakes in the Soya Kaigan of Antarctica inferred from the analyses of lake sediment cores

第3回極域科学シンポジウム　横断セッション「海・陸・氷床から探る後期新生代の南極寒冷圏環境変動」11月26日（月）、27日（火） ２階ラウン

完新世における東南極宗谷海岸のRundvågshetta湖沼の古陸水学的変遷

第6回極域科学シンポジウム[OB] 極域生物圏11月16日（月）　国立極地研究所１階交流アトリウ

Reconstruction of paleoenvironmental changes at coastal freshwater lakes along the Soya Kaigan (Coast), Antarctica, using modern and fossil diatom assemblages

第6回極域科学シンポジウム[OB] 極域生物圏11月16日（月）　国立極地研究所１階交流アトリウ