Four Dimensional Quantum Topology Changes of Spacetimes

We investigate topology changing processes in the WKB approximation of four dimensional quantum cosmology with a negative cosmological constant. As Riemannian manifolds which describe quantum tunnelings of spacetime we consider constant negative curvature solutions of the Einstein equation i.e. hyperbolic geometries. Using four dimensional polytopes, we can explicitly construct hyperbolic manifolds with topologically non-trivial boundaries which describe topology changes. These instanton-like solutions are constructed out of 8-cell's, 16-cell's or 24-cell's and have several points at infinity called cusps. The hyperbolic manifolds are non-compact because of the cusps but have finite volumes. Then we evaluate topology change amplitudes in the WKB approximation in terms of the volumes of these manifolds. We find that the more complicated are the topology changes, the more likely are suppressed.Comment: 26 pages, revtex, 13 figures. The calculation of volume and grammatical errors are correcte

Growth Condition of Plagioclase Porphyroblasts in Sambagawa Schist from Central Shikoku, Japan

Microtextures of plagioclase porphyroblasts in a fold of pelitic schist in the biotite zone of the Sambagawa belt of Central Shikoku, Japan, have been described. It has been clarified that the growth of plagioclase porphyroblasts occurred as mimetic crystallization after the folding and under non-deformational condition

Deformation and Recrystallization of Amphiboles in Sambagawa Schist with Special Reference to History of Sambagawa Metamorphism

The amphibole grains in the Shirataki hornblende-schist, which has been collected from an outcrop in the biotite zone of the Sambagawa belt of the Shirataki district; Central Shikoku, are divided into three distinguishable populations which are different from each other in generation age: amphibole grains (Si-amphibole) included in cores of plagioclase porphyroblasts, and their matrix amphibole grains which consist of two populations, old hornblende grains (porphyroblasts) and new hornblende grains. The Si- amphibole grains, which recrystallized during growth of the cores of plagioclase porphyroblasts, belong to the actinolite - common hornblende group with Si content of 7.36-6.95, showing that the plagioclase cores grew during progressive increase of temperature. The old horriblende grains (Si content=6.97-6.66), which are of the same generation as the inner zones of mantles of plagioclase porphyroblasts, appeared under non-deformational condition and progressive increase of temperature until the highest tempeature. The new hornblende grains (Si content=6.87-6.79) grew during growth of the outer zones of mantles of plagioclase porphyroblasts and the deformation (Se-deformation) of the beginning stage of retrogressive metamorphism. The lattice fabric of the old hornblende grains, which was produced by the Se-deformation, is characterized by preferred orientation of crystallographic axes c forming a single set of lineation (L), though poles of (100) planes form a great-circle girdle normal to L. While that of the new hornblende grains, which grew during the Se-deformation, is characterized by preferred orientation of c axes parallel to L and of (100) planes forming a single set of schistosity. On the basis of informations given by HARA et al. (1977), TAKAGI and HARA (1979), HARA et al. (1980), MAEDA and HARA (1983a and b), MAEDA et al. (1983) and HARA et al. (1983), as well as the present authors, the time-relationship between deformation and metamorphism in the biotite zone of the Sambagawa belt of Central Shikoku has been also briefly discussed in this paper, showing a result of Table I and that the deformation styles of the Sambagawa schists changed cyclically from ductile deformation (=folding and formation of schistosity) to brittle deformation

Discontinuously Zoned Garnet in Sambagawa Schist from Central Shikoku, Japan

The garnets in the Sambagawa siliceous pelitic schist from Tomisato, Central Shikoku,Japan, which have been described in this paper, belong to the type of reverse-zoned garnet. From zoning profiles for MnO and FeO and electron beam scanning images, individual garnet grains appear to be divided into four zones, core, intermediate zone, mantle and reverse zone in the rim. And the chemical composition changes discontinuously by about 9% for MnO between the outer part of the core (=ca. 32% for MnO) and the inner part of the intermediate zone and by about 7.2-16.5% for MnO between the outer part of the intermediate zone (=ca. 19.5-10.1% for MnO) and the inner part of the mantle. The garnets in the present specimen, therefore, will be newly designated as discontinuously zoned garnet

Some problems on Palaeozoic-Mesozoic tectonics inSouthwest Japan: Tectonics of metamorphic belts of high-pressure type

Tectonics of the Sangun belt and Sambagawa belt in Southwest Japan, which belong to the metamorphic belt of high-pressure type, have been discussed in this paper. Regarding the Sangun belt, the tectonics of the phases when the original rocks of the Sangun belt were deposited and the Sangun metamorphic field appeared have been analysed. As for the Sambagawa belt, the tectonics of the phases when the Sambagawa metamorphic field was placed under the condition of the highest temperature and then its collapse began have been analysed

Bioinspired One-Step Synthesis of Pomegranate-like Silica@Gold Nanoparticles with Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Activity

Gold–silica (Au–SiO2) nanohybrids are of great technological importance, and it is crucial to develop facile synthetic protocols to prepare Au–SiO2 nanohybrids with novel structures. Here we report the bioinspired synthesis of pomegranate-like SiO2@Au nanoparticles (P-SiO2@Au NPs) via one-step aqueous synthesis from chloroauric acid and tetraethyl orthosilicate mediated by a basic amino acid, arginine. Effects of chloroauric acid, tetraethyl orthosilicate, and arginine on the morphology and optical property of the products are investigated in detail. The P-SiO2@Au NPs achieve tunable plasmon resonance depending on the amount of chloroauric acid, which affects the size and shape of the P-SiO2@Au NPs. Finite-difference time-domain simulations are performed, revealing that the plasmon peak red-shifts with increasing particle size. Arginine serves as the reducing and capping agents for Au as well as the catalyst for SiO2 formation and also promotes the combination of Au and SiO2. Formation process of the P-SiO2@Au NPs is clarified through time-course analysis. The P-SiO2@Au NPs show good sensitivity for both colloidal and paper-based surface-enhanced Raman scattering measurements. They achieve enhancement factors of 4.3 × 107–8.5 × 107 and a mass detection limit of ca. 1 ng using thiophenol as the model analyte.The Supporting Information is available free of charge at https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.langmuir.0c00334

Partially Folded Structure of Flavin Adenine Dinucleotide-depleted Ferredoxin-NADP+ Reductase with Residual NADP+ Binding Domain

This research was originally published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry. Masahiro Maeda, Daizo Hamada, Masaru Hoshino, Yayoi Onda, Toshiharu Hase and Yuji Goto. Partially Folded Structure of Flavin Adenine Dinucleotide-depleted Ferredoxin-NADP+ Reductase with Residual NADP+ Binding Domain. J. Biol. Chem. 2002; 277, 17101-17107. © the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biolog

Dogs as Sentinels for Human Infection with Japanese Encephalitis Virus

Because serosurveys of Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) among wild animals and pigs may not accurately reflect risk for humans in urban/residential areas, we examined seroprevalence among dogs and cats. We found that JEV-infected mosquitoes have spread throughout Japan and that dogs, but not cats, might be good sentinels for monitoring JEV infection in urban/residential areas

Topology Changes by Quantum Tunneling in Four Dimensions

We investigate topology-changing processes in 4-dimensional quantum gravity with a negative cosmological constant. By playing the ``gluing-polytope game" in hyperbolic geometry, we explicitly construct an instanton-like solution without singularity. Because of cusps, this solution is non-compact but has a finite volume. Then we evaluate a topology change amplitude in the WKB approximation in terms of the volume of this solution.Comment: 13 pages revtex.sty, 6 uuencoded figures contained, TIT/HEP-260/COSMO-4

Botulinum toxin type A in post-stroke lower limb spasticity: a multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Lower limb spasticity in post-stroke patients can impair ambulation and reduces activities of daily living (ADL) performance of patients. Botulinum toxin type A (BoNTA) has been shown effective for upper limb spasticity. This study assesses the treatment of lower limb spasticity in a large placebo-controlled clinical trial. In this multicenter, randomized, double-blind, parallel-group, placebo-controlled study, we evaluate the efficacy and safety of one-time injections of botulinum toxin type A (BoNTA) in Japanese patients with post-stroke lower limb spasticity. One hundred twenty patients with lower limb spasticity were randomized to a single treatment with BoNTA 300 U or placebo. The tone of the ankle flexor was assessed at baseline and through 12 weeks using the Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS). Gait pattern and speed of gait were also assessed. The primary endpoint was area under the curve (AUC) of the change from baseline in the MAS ankle score. Significant improvement in spasticity with BoNTA 300 U was demonstrated by a mean difference in the AUC of the change from baseline in the MAS ankle score between the BoNTA and placebo groups (−3.428; 95% CIs, −5.841 to −1.016; p = 0.006; t test). A significantly greater decrease from baseline in the MAS ankle score was noted at weeks 4, 6 and 8 in the BoNTA group compared to the placebo group (p < 0.001). Significant improvement in the Clinicians Global Impression was noted by the investigator at weeks 4, 6 and 8 (p = 0.016–0.048, Wilcoxon test), but not by the patient or physical/occupational therapist. Assessments of gait pattern using the Physician’s Rating Scale and speed of gait revealed no significant treatment differences but showed a tendency towards improvement with BoNTA. No marked difference was noted in the frequency of treatment-related adverse events between BoNTA and placebo groups. This was the first large-scale trial to indicate that BoNTA significantly reduced spasticity in lower limb muscles