Superwind-Driven Intense H_2 Emission in NGC 6240

We have performed a long-slit K band spectroscopic observation of the luminous infrared galaxy NGC 6240. The peak position of the H_2 v=1-0 S(1) emission in the slit is located ~0.3" - 0.4" north of the southern nucleus. It is almost the midpoint between the southern nucleus and the peak position of the ^12CO J=1-0 emission. Based on the line-ratio analyses, we suggest the excitation mechanism of H_2 is pure thermal at most positions. In the southern region we find the following three velocity components in the H_2 emission: the blueshifted shell component (~-250 km s^-1 with respect to V_sys) which is recognized as a distinct C-shape distortion in the velocity field around the southern nucleus, the high-velocity blueshifted ``wing'' component (~-1000 km s^-1 with respect to V_sys), and the component indicating possible line splitting of ~500 km s^-1. The latter two components are extended to the south from the southern nucleus. We show that the kinematic properties of these three components can be reproduced by expanding motion of a shell-like structure around the southern nucleus. The offset peak position of the H_2 emission can be understood if we assume that the shell expanding to the north interacts with the extragalactic molecular gas. At the interface between the shell and the molecular gas concentration the cloud-crushing mechanism proposed by Cowie et al. (1981) may work efficiently, and the intense H_2 emission is thus expected there. All these findings lead us to propose a model that the most H_2 emission is attributed to the shock excitation driven by the superwind activity of the southern nucleus.Comment: 33 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in PAS

Current Performance and On-Going Improvements of the 8.2 m Subaru Telescope

An overview of the current status of the 8.2 m Subaru Telescope constructed and operated at Mauna Kea, Hawaii, by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan is presented. The basic design concept and the verified performance of the telescope system are described. Also given are the status of the instrument package offered to the astronomical community, the status of operation, and some of the future plans. The status of the telescope reported in a number of SPIE papers as of the summer of 2002 are incorporated with some updates included as of 2004 February. However, readers are encouraged to check the most updated status of the telescope through the home page, http://subarutelescope.org/index.html, and/or the direct contact with the observatory staff.Comment: 18 pages (17 pages in published version), 29 figures (GIF format), This is the version before the galley proo

Interannual-decadal variability of wintertime mixed layer depths in the North Pacific detected by an ensemble of ocean syntheses

The interannual-decadal variability of the wintertime mixed layer depths (MLDs) over the North Pacific is investigated from an empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis of an ensemble of global ocean reanalyses. The first leading EOF mode represents the interannual MLD anomalies centered in the eastern part of the central mode water formation region in phase opposition with those in the eastern subtropics and the central Alaskan Gyre. This first EOF mode is highly correlated with the Pacific decadal oscillation index on both the interannual and decadal time scales. The second leading EOF mode represents the MLD variability in the subtropical mode water (STMW) formation region and has a good correlation with the wintertime West Pacific (WP) index with time lag of 3 years, suggesting the importance of the oceanic dynamical response to the change in the surface wind field associated with the meridional shifts of the Aleutian Low. The above MLD variabilities are in basic agreement with previous observational and modeling findings. Moreover the reanalysis ensemble provides uncertainty estimates. The interannual MLD anomalies in the first and second EOF modes are consistently represented by the individual reanalyses and the amplitudes of the variabilities generally exceed the ensemble spread of the reanalyses. Besides, the resulting MLD variability indices, spanning the 1948–2012 period, should be helpful for characterizing the North Pacific climate variability. In particular, a 6-year oscillation including the WP teleconnection pattern in the atmosphere and the oceanic MLD variability in the STMW formation region is first detected

Prospective study of daily low-dose nedaplatin and continuous 5-fluorouracil infusion combined with radiation for the treatment of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Protracted low-dose concurrent chemotherapy combined with radiation has been proposed for enhanced treatment results for esophageal cancer. We evaluated the efficacy and the toxicity of a novel regimen of daily low-dose nedaplatin (cis-diammine-glycolatoplatinum) and continuous infusion of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) with radiation in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Between January 2003 and June 2008, 33 patients with clinical stage I to IVB esophageal squamous cell carcinoma were enrolled. Nedaplatin (10 mg/body/day) was administered daily and 5-FU (500 mg/body/day) was administered continuously for 20 days. Fractionated radiotherapy for a total dose of 50.4-66 Gy was administered together with chemotherapy. Additional chemotherapy with nedaplatin and 5-FU was optionally performed for a maximum of 5 courses after chemoradiotherapy. The primary end-point of this study was to evaluate the tumor response, and the secondary end-points were to evaluate the toxicity and the overall survival.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Twenty-two patients (72.7%) completed the regimen of chemoradiotherapy. Twenty patients (60.6%) achieved a complete response, 10 patients (30.3%) a partial response. One patient (3.0%) had a stable disease, and 2 (6.1%) a progressive disease. The overall response rate was 90.9% (95% confidence interval: 75.7%-98.1%). For grade 3-4 toxicity, leukopenia was observed in 75.8% of the cases, thrombocytopenia in 24.2%, anemia in 9.1%, and esophagitis in 36.4%, while late grade 3-4 cardiac toxicity occurred in 6.1%. Additional chemotherapy was performed for 26 patients (78.8%) and the median number of courses was 3 (range, 1-5). The 1-, 2- and 3-year survival rates were 83.9%, 76.0% and 58.8%, respectively. The 1- and 2-year survival rates were 94.7% and 88.4% in patients with T1-3 M0 disease, and 66.2% and 55.2% in patients with T4/M1 disease.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The treatment used in our study may yield a high complete response rate and better survival for each stage of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00197444</p

トクシマシ イシカイ ノ トウニョウビョウ タイサク

Tokushima City Medical Association has founded the committee for the means to prevent diabetesmellitus, because the mortality rate by diabetes mellitus in Tokushima Prefecture remainedranked first for 14 years from 1993 to 2006. It has enlightened a large number of people, such asdiabetic patients and candidates for diabetes, and also healthy citizens in Tokushima for preventingdiabetes mellitus. For this aim, Tokushima City Medical Association has made the home pagenamed Tokushima City Diabetic Network to show clearly the means to prevent diabetes mellitusfor the citizens. By this Web site, the citizens can get a correct knowledge about diabetes mellitus,a useful information about the treatments including exercises, diets and medications, and an informationabout medical institutions by utilizing the search page to receive a proper diabetic treatment.Tokushima City Medical Association held several events, such as Tokushima citizens’extension courses and diabetes forums for the citizens to understand diabetes mellitus clearly.Fortunately, in 2007, Tokushima got out of the first rank of diabetic mortality rate. TokushimaCity Medical Association will continue efforts to prevent diabetes mellitus by approaching the citizensof all ages from various aspects

Four mutations of the spastin gene in Japanese families with spastic paraplegia

Hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP) is a group of genetically heterogeneous neurodegenerative disorders characterized by slowly progressive spasticity and weakness of the lower limbs. HSP is caused by failure of development or selective degeneration of the corticospinal tracts, which contain the longest axons in humans. The most common form of HSP is caused by mutations of the spastin gene (SPAST), located on chromosome 2p21-p22, which encodes spastin, one of the ATPases associated with diverse cellular activities (AAA). In this study, we detected four causative mutations of SPAST among 14 unrelated patients with spastic paraplegia. Two missense mutations (1447A-->G, 1207C-->G) and two deletion mutations (1465delT, 1475-1476delAA) were located in the AAA cassette region. Three of these four mutations were novel. Previous reports and our results suggest that the frequency of SPAST mutations is higher among Japanese patients with autosomal dominant HSP, although SPAST mutations are also observed in patients with sporadic spastic paraplegia

Association between lack of sexual interest and all-cause mortality in a Japanese general population: The Yamagata prospective observational study.

BackgroundSexual interest is essential for maintaining positive sexual relationships and sexual function, which have recently been recognized as important indicators of good health and quality of life. Here, we prospectively investigated associations between sexual interest and mortality in a community-based population.MethodsThis study enrolled 20,969 subjects (8,558 males and 12,411 females) aged ≥ 40 years who participated in annual health check-ups in Yamagata Prefecture. Sexual interest was assessed by a self-report questionnaire. Associations between sexual interest and increased all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease mortality, and cancer mortality were investigated by Cox proportional hazards modeling.ResultsDuring follow-up (median: 7.1 years), 503 subjects died; 67 deaths were due to cardiovascular disease, and 162 were due to cancer. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that all-cause mortality and cancer mortality were significantly elevated among men who lacked sexual interest (log-rank PConclusionLack of sexual interest is suggested to be a risk factor for all-cause mortality in Japanese males over 40 years old. This finding has implications for the importance of sexual interest in increasing longevity in this population

Retrospective immunohistochemical analysis of human cytomegalovirus infection in the placenta and its association with fetal growth restriction

Objectives: Fetal human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection might be involved in fetal growth restriction (FGR). Maternal serostatus and the prevalence of congenital HCMV infection are affected by various factors, such as socioeconomic status and ethnicity. Therefore, the prevalence of congenital HCMV-related FGR should be examined in each region. Methods: Seventy-eight cases of FGR with delivery between January 2012 and January 2017 at Fujita Health University Hospital were studied. Twenty-one non-FGR cases were also included as a control group. Placental sections obtained from the FGR and control cases were immunostained with two primary antibodies for detecting immediate early antigens. Results: Nineteen placental samples from FGR cases with another etiology were excluded. Finally, 59 placental samples from FGR cases of unknown etiology were included in the pathological analysis. Four of 59 (6.8%) placental samples were positive for HCMV antigen. All four positive cases were stained with the M0854 antibody, and there were no positive case with the MAB810R antibody. Neither maternal nor infantile clinical features were different between the HCMV-positive and -negative FGR cases. A pathological examination showed a hematoma in three of four cases and infarction in two of four cases. Conclusions: HCMV antigen was detected in 6.8% of placental samples obtained from FGR cases without an obvious etiology. No remarkable maternal or neonatal clinical features discriminated HCMV-related FGR from FGR due to other causes. Vasculitis and inflammation might play important roles in the pathogenesis of HCMV-related FGR

Characteristics of study subjects.

Characteristics of study subjects.</p

Kaplan-Meier analysis for cardiovascular disease survival by sexual interest.

(A) males, (B) females.</p