積層造形したFe-Co合金の磁歪特性および環境発電性能

要約のみTohoku University成田史生課

The Management of Constipation: Current Status and Future Prospects

Chronic constipation, a common condition, can have remarkably negative effects on a patient’s quality of life. Recent research has identified factors that may influence the prognosis of chronic constipation and suggests the need for adequate therapy. However, the major obstacles in this field were: (1) a small number of therapeutic options, (2) no clear diagnostic criteria, and (3) no effective method to collect information form the patients. These were due to the fact that bowel movement patterns vary widely among individuals, and also the functional constipation, including irritable bowel syndrome, is difficult to be distinguished from the chronic constipation. Recently, it has been demonstrated that the Rome IV diagnostic criteria of functional constipation and the Bristol stool form scale are useful for the objective evaluation and recording of stool. Based on these developments, and the increase of newly developed medicines the therapy for the constipation is significantly changing and therefore, if conventional therapy for chronic constipation is ineffective, switching of medicines is possible. Therefore, clinicians should update the information of these newly developed drugs available in clinics and diagnostic criteria. For this purpose, in this chapter, we have summarized the perspective on the current paradigm of treatment for chronic constipation focusing on recently introduced therapeutic drugs

Mechanism of enhanced optical second-harmonic generation in the conducting pyrochlore-type Pb2_{2}Ir2_{2}O7−x_{7-x} oxide compound

The structural, electronic, and optical properties of pyrochlore-type Pb$_{2}$Ir$_{2}$O$_{6}$O'$_{0.55}$, which is a metal without spatial inversion symmetry at room temperature, were investigated. Structural analysis revealed that the structural distortion relevant to the breakdown of the inversion symmetry is dominated by the Pb-O' network but is very small in the Ir-O network. At the same time, gigantic second-harmonic generation signals were observed, which can only occur if the local environment of the Ir 5$d$ electrons features broken inversion symmetry. First-principles electronic structure calculations reveal that the underlying mechanism for this phenomenon is the induction of the noncentrosymmetricity in the Ir 5$d$ bands by the strong hybridization with O' 2$p$ orbitals. Our results stimulate theoretical study of inversion-broken iridates, where exotic quantum states such as a topological insulator and Dirac semimetal are anticipated

Ongoing strategies to improve the management of upper respiratory tract infections and reduce inappropriate antibiotic use particularly among lower and middle-income countries: findings and implications for the future

Introduction: Antibiotics are indispensable to maintaining human health; however, their overuse has resulted in resistant organisms, increasing morbidity, mortality and costs. Increasing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major public health threat, resulting in multiple campaigns across countries to improve appropriate antimicrobial use. This includes addressing the overuse of antimicrobials for self-limiting infections, such as upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs), particularly in lower- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where there is the greatest inappropriate use and where antibiotic utilization has increased the most in recent years. Consequently, there is a need to document current practices and successful initiatives in LMICs to improve future antimicrobial use. Methodology: Documentation of current epidemiology and management of URTIs, particularly in LMICs, as well as campaigns to improve future antimicrobial use and their influence where known. Results: Much concern remains regarding the prescribing and dispensing of antibiotics for URTIs among LMICs. This includes considerable self-purchasing, up to 100% of pharmacies in some LMICs. However, multiple activities are now ongoing to improve future use. These incorporate educational initiatives among all key stakeholder groups, as well as legislation and other activities to reduce self-purchasing as part of National Action Plans (NAPs). Further activities are still needed however. These include increased physician and pharmacist education, starting in medical and pharmacy schools; greater monitoring of prescribing and dispensing practices, including the development of pertinent quality indicators; and targeted patient information and health education campaigns. It is recognized that such activities are more challenging in LMICs given more limited resources and a lack of healthcare professionals. Conclusion: Initiatives will grow across LMICs to reduce inappropriate prescribing and dispensing of antimicrobials for URTIs as part of NAPs and other activities, and these will be monitored