Proposal and Evaluation of Intermediate Content for the Transition from Visual to Text-Based Programming Languages

Beginners learning to program learn visual-based programming languages, such as Scratch, whereas experts use text-based programming languages, such as C and Java. However, no seamless transition from visual to text-based programming languages has been established. In this paper, a transition method was established between both language types. In particular, emphasis was placed on the features that an intermediate language between visual and text-based programming languages should have. Additionally, learning with the proposed intermediate content enhanced the subsequent comprehension of text-based languages. The proposed intermediate content was evaluated using questionnaires to ensure that it had intermediate characteristics between both language types

Transcriptional factors associated with epithelial-mesenchymal transition in choroidal neovascularization

Purpose: To investigate the transcriptional factors associated with epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in choroidal neovascularization (CNV) secondary to age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Methods: Paraffin sections of CNV obtained from patients with AMD (n=12) were stained for transcriptional factors related to EMT, i.e., Snail, Slug, SIP1, and Twist. As a control, postmortem sections of ocular normal tissue were used. Furthermore, using a human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cell line (ARPE-19), reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (RT–PCR) and immunofluorescence microscopy were performed to explore the cellular localization and expression levels of EMT-associated transcriptional factors upon cytokine stimulation. Results: Of 12 specimens, 11 CNV tissues (91.6%) showed staining for Snail localized in cellular nuclei, particularly in those of RPE cells. Snail was strongly co-localized with α-smooth muscle antigen (SMA) in RPE cells. In contrast, postmortem human retina showed no Snail staining in RPE cells. Other transcriptional factors, Slug, Twist and SIP1 were not detected in CNV or normal human retina. In ARPE-19 cells, RT–PCR and immunofluorescence microscopy showed that Snail mRNA was upregulated by transforming growth factor (TGF)-β and VEGF stimulation. Furthermore, TGF-β induced relocalization of Snail to the nucleus in RPE cells. Conclusions: The current data indicate that Snail is a major transcriptional factor for EMT changes of RPE cells in human CNV

Preliminary report of "Arctic Airborne Measurement Program 2002" (AAMP02)

The Arctic Airborne Measurement Program 2002(AAMP 02) campaign was carried out in March 2002 as one of the sub programs of the project Variations of atmospheric constituents and their climate impact in the Arctic". The main goal of the project was to investigate the transport, transformation and radiative effect of trace gases and aerosols, and their role in the global climate. An instrumented jet plane, Gulfstream II(G-II), was flown from Nagoya, Japan via Barrow, Alaska to Longyearbyen(78°N , 15°E ), Svalbard, crossing the Arctic Ocean in the lower stratospher. Three local flights were made over the Greenland Sea around Svalbard and two profile flights near Barrow. The plane was equipped with CO_2 and ozone analyzers, gas and aerosol sampling systems, aerosol particle counter, nephelometer, absorption photometer, PMS particle probes, sunphotometer, dew point hygrometer and dropsonde system. During the campaign, intensitive surface operations were also conducted at Ny-Ålesund(79°N , 12°E ), Svalbard. Vertical profiles of several trace gases gave information about transport, a new observation by sunphotometer derived an aerosol optical depth in the stratosphere, and another new observation by dropsonde gave information on the polar vortex

Charge Neutralization of Aersol Carbon Nanofibers

Charging characteristics of carbon nanofibers (CNFs) with a 241-Am charge neutralizer were investigated using diameter- and length-controlled CNF particles, which were generated by a floating catalyst CVD method. The neutral fraction and charge distribution of CNF measured by aerosol techniques suggested that the fraction of neutral particles is much lower than that predicted by the conventional charging theory for spherical particles and that there exist a large number of multiply charged particles in charge equilibrium. Furthermore, it was found that the charge equivalent diameter that is twice the one proposed in a previous work gives a good prediction for the charge distribution of CNF with a diameter smaller than 20 nm and aspect ratio between 5 and 40. © 2014 The Society of Chemical Engineers, Japan.出版社照会後に全文公

カキ ナンキョク タイリュウケン チュウ ノ エアロゾル リュウシ ノ ブンプ ト コンゴウ ジョウタイ ANTSYO-II(AGAMES) カンソク

2006年12月～ 2007年1月に,南極域で航空機を使用した大気観測(ANTSYO-II: AGAMES)を実施した.エアロゾル観測及びエアロゾルの直接採集は,Neumayer基地,Kohnen基地,S17航空拠点(昭和基地付近)で実施した.個別粒子分析用のエアロゾル試料は1段式のインパクターを用いて,地上付近から約7500 mの高度領域で捕集し,28回の観測飛行で試料を得た.個別粒子分析の結果,主要なエアロゾル粒子は硫酸粒子だった.さらに,南極域上空でも燃焼起源のエアロゾル粒子(スス・K含有硫酸塩)が確認された.また,土壌粒子や海塩粒子も自由対流圏中で観測された.この結果は,夏季南極において燃焼起源粒子や土壌粒子が,対流圏上部経由で低・中緯度域から南極域へ輸送されていることを示唆している.エアロゾル数濃度の空間分布では,海洋表面からの海塩粒子発生によるエアロゾルの水平方向の濃度勾配が確認された.Airplane-borne atmospheric measurements (ANTSYO-II: AGAMES) were carried out in the Antarctic regions in December 2006-January 2007. Aerosol measurements and direct aerosol sampling were done around Neumayer, Kohnen, and S17 (close to Syowa Station). Aerosol samples for individual particle analysis were obtained from 28 scientific flights from near ground to 24000 ft (ca. 7500 m) during the campaign using a one-stage aerosol impactor. Preliminary results of individual particle analysis indicate that sulfate particles (mostly H_2SO_4) were dominant aerosol constituents in all flights. In addition, combustion-origin aerosol particles (e.g., soot and sulfate containing K) were identified even in the upper troposphere in Antarctic regions. Also, mineral-like and sea-salt-like particles were identified in the free troposphere. This strongly suggests that combustion-origin aerosol particles and mineral particles were transported from low- and mid-latitudes toward Antarctic regions via the upper free troposphere in the austral summer. Spatial distributions of the number concentrations of aerosol particles indicate horizontal gradient of aerosols from the continent to the open water area due to emission of sea-salt particles from the sea surface

Identification of a novel uterine leiomyoma GWAS locus in a Japanese population

Uterine leiomyoma is one of the most common gynaecologic benign tumours, but its genetic basis remains largely unknown. Six previous GWAS identified 33 genetic factors in total. Here, we performed a two-staged GWAS using 13,746 cases and 70,316 controls from the Japanese population, followed by a replication analysis using 3,483 cases and 4,795 controls. The analysis identified 9 significant loci, including a novel locus on 12q23.2 (rs17033114, P = 6.12 × 10−25 with an OR of 1.177 (1.141-1.213), LINC00485). Subgroup analysis indicated that 5 loci (3q26.2, 5p15.33, 10q24.33, 11p15.5, 13q14.11) exhibited a statistically significant effect among multiple leiomyomas, and 2 loci (3q26.2, 10q24.33) exhibited a significant effect among submucous leiomyomas. Pleiotropic analysis indicated that all 9 loci were associated with at least one proliferative disease, suggesting the role of these loci in the common neoplastic pathway. Furthermore, the risk T allele of rs2251795 (3q26.2) was associated with longer telomere length in both normal and tumour tissues. Our findings elucidated the significance of genetic factors in the pathogenesis of leiomyoma

Serum markers in interstitial pneumonia with and without Pneumocystis jirovecii colonization: a prospective study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In patients with chronic respiratory disease, <it>Pneumocystis jirovecii (P. jirovecii) </it>colonization is observed, and may influence disease progression and systemic inflammation. <it>Pneumocystis </it>pneumonia causes interstitial changes, so making a diagnosis of PCP in patients who have interstitial pneumonia (IP) with <it>P. jirovecii </it>colonization is sometimes difficult based on radiography.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This study investigated the prevalence of <it>P. jirovecii </it>colonization in IP patients and assessed pulmonary injury due to <it>P. jirovecii </it>colonization by measurement of serum markers (KL-6, SP-A, SP-D, and (1→3) β-D-glucan (β-D-glucan)) and the peripheral lymphocyte counts, prospectively. A total of 75 patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (n = 29), collagen vascular-related interstitial pneumonia (n = 19), chronic bronchitis or pneumonia (n = 20), and <it>Pneumocystis </it>pneumonia (n = 7) were enrolled in this prospective study. <it>P. jirovecii </it>DNA was detected in sputum samples, while serum markers and the lymphocyte count were measured in the peripheral blood.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>IP patients (idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and collagen vascular-related IP) who received oral corticosteroids had a high prevalence of <it>P. jirovecii </it>colonization (23.3%). In IP patients, oral corticosteroid therapy was a significant risk factor for <it>P. jirovecii </it>colonization (<it>P </it>< 0.05). Serum markers did not show differences between IP patients with and without <it>P. jirovecii </it>colonization. The β-D-glucan level and lymphocyte count differed between patients with <it>Pneumocystis </it>pneumonia or <it>P. jirovecii </it>colonization.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Serum levels of KL-6, SP-A, SP-D, and β-D-glucan were not useful for detecting <it>P. jirovecii </it>colonization in IP patients. However, the serum β-D-glucan level and lymphocyte count were useful for distinguishing <it>P. jirovecii </it>colonization from <it>pneumocystis </it>pneumonia in IP patients.</p

Novel quantitative immunohistochemical analysis for evaluating PD-L1 expression with phosphor-integrated dots for predicting the efficacy of patients with cancer treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors

IntroductionProgrammed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression in tumor tissues is measured as a predictor of the therapeutic efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in many cancer types. PD-L1 expression is evaluated by immunohistochemical staining using 3,3´-diaminobenzidine (DAB) chronogenesis (IHC-DAB); however, quantitative and reproducibility issues remain. We focused on a highly sensitive quantitative immunohistochemical method using phosphor-integrated dots (PIDs), which are fluorescent nanoparticles, and evaluated PD-L1 expression between the PID method and conventional DAB method.MethodsIn total, 155 patients with metastatic or recurrent cancer treated with ICIs were enrolled from four university hospitals. Tumor tissue specimens collected before treatment were subjected to immunohistochemical staining with both the PID and conventional DAB methods to evaluate PD-L1 protein expression.ResultsPD-L1 expression assessed using the PID and DAB methods was positively correlated. We quantified PD-L1 expression using the PID method and calculated PD-L1 PID scores. The PID score was significantly higher in the responder group than in the non-responder group. Survival analysis demonstrated that PD-L1 expression evaluated using the IHC-DAB method was not associated with progression-free survival (PFS) or overall survival (OS). Yet, PFS and OS were strikingly prolonged in the high PD-L1 PID score group.ConclusionQuantification of PD-L1 expression as a PID score was more effective in predicting the treatment efficacy and prognosis of patients with cancer treated with ICIs. The quantitative evaluation of PD-L1 expression using the PID method is a novel strategy for protein detection. It is highly significant that the PID method was able to identify a group of patients with a favorable prognosis who could not be identified by the conventional DAB method