Effect of Oxygen Adsorption on Oxygen Analysis of High Carbon Iron with Graphite Precipitates

Analytical value of oxygen in a specimen containing graphite precipitates is affected by oxygen adsorption on the surface of the specimen. The quantity and some natures of the adsorption were examined. Carbon-saturated molten iron was prepared in a vacuum furnace, and was cast into a copper mould to obtain the analytical specimens. The oxygen content was determined by the vacuum fusion method. The results obtained were as follows : The surface of quenched specimen which contains about 0.4 wt% graphite adsorbs a rather constant amount of oxygen of about 0.002 cc (NTP) 0_2/cm^2. This amount does not change when the specimen has been preserved in a desic-cator for a few weeks. In the case of the specimen with 1 wt% graphite, the adsorption increases with increasing preservation time. The adsorption in a gray iron specimen is much larger than that in the quenched specimen and seems to vary remarkably with the treatment of specimen. Hydrogen adsorption is also observed, and a parallelism between the quantities of hydrogen and oxygen is obtained. It is suggested that those adsorptions are not a simple adsorption on the surface or graphite of the specimen but a formation of thin film of rust

A preliminary report on noble gases in the Kobe (CK) meteorite: A carbonaceous chondrite fell in Kobe City, Japan

We have investigated elemental and isotopic compositions of noble gases in the newly-fallen CK chondrite, Kobe. The relatively low concentrations of primordial heavy noble gases (Kr and Xe) and the relatively high ^Xe/^Xe ratio (6.51±0.02) are similar to those found in previous studies of CK chondrites. The calculated cosmic-ray exposure age based on cosmogenic ^Ne is 41Ma, and the K-Ar age is 2.1Ga. Based on calculated exposure ages and gas retention ages of Kobe and some other CK chondrites, it is likely that they have partially lost both radiogenic and cosmogenic He by solar heating during the time of exposure. Based on the ^Ar retention age, we interpret that Kobe may also have experienced thermal events, possibly related to impacts about 2 billion years age

Assessment of inhibition with the Go/No-Go Task

Young, Sutherland, and McCoy indicated that a Go/No-Go Task (GNG) becomes more difficult as the inter-stimulus intervals (ISIs) becomes shorter. However, is the number of commission errors under extremely short ISIs a useful metric for assessing response inhibition? This study challenges the assumption that a shorter ISI in the GNG enables better assessment of response inhibition. University students (N = 213) completed the GNG, the Conners Continuous Performance Test 3rd Edition (CCPT), and the Modified Stroop Task. The GNG comprised four blocks of 400, 600, 800, and 1000 ms ISIs, whereas the stimulus presentation was fixed at 250 ms. Consistent with Young et al., shorter ISIs in the GNG resulted in more commission errors. In the block with the shortest ISI, participants also failed more frequently in responses in go trials than in the other blocks, which appears to increase in error variance of commission errors. Consistent with this interpretation, the association between the number of commission errors in the block with 400 ms ISI and CCPT performance was weaker than those between the number of commission errors in other blocks and CCPT performance. It is concluded that using the number of commission errors in the condition with extremely short ISIs in the GNG might be inappropriate for assessing response inhibition

Comparison of Hepatitis B Virus DNA, RNA, and Core Related Antigen as Predictors of Lamivudine Resistance in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis B

The clinical usefulness of hepatitis B virus (HBV)DNA, RNA, and core related antigen (HBcrAg)assays for predicting the appearance of HBV DNA breakthrough was evaluated and compared in patients with chronic hepatitis B undergoing lamivudine therapy.Methods :Thirty six patients with chronic hepatitis B who received lamivudine therapy for more than 1 year were enrolled. HBV RNA was measured simultaneously with HBV DNA (HBV RNA/DNA) using a real-time detection polymerase chain reaction assay with a preceding step of reverse-transcription. HBV DNA was measured by an HBV AMPLICOR monitor kit. HBcrAg was measured using a chemiluminescence enzyme immunoassay. Results : Sixteen patients (44%) developed HBV DNA breakthrough during the median observation period of 48.4 months (range 7.4-87.8 months). Afterwards, HBV DNA breakthrough was prospected using the three parameters taken 6 months after starting lamivudine therapy. The cut-offlevels for predictions were determined by receiver operating characteristic curves, and were 2.6 log copies/ml for HBV DNA, 3.8 log U/ml for HBV RNA/DNA, and 4.0 log U/ml for HBcrAg.Sensitivity,specificity,and accuracy for predicting HBV DNA breakthrough were 25%, 100%,and 67% respectively for HBV DNA.Similarly,they were 50%,90%,and 72% for HBV RNA/DNA, and 100%, 40%, and 67% for HBcrAg. Conclusion : Our findings confirm that HBV DNA is useful for identifying patients who are at high risk for HBV breakthrough.HBcrAg is useful for isolating those who are at low risk, and HBV RNA/DNA showed predictive characteristics similar to HBV DNA with higher sensitivity and the highest accuracyArticle信州医学雑誌, 58(4):153-162 (2010)departmental bulletin pape

Response inhibition deficits are positively associated with trait rumination, but attentional inhibition deficits are not : aggressive behaviors and interpersonal stressors as mediators

Previous findings on relationships between inhibition that is a core executive function, and trait rumination have been inconsistent. This inconsistency could be overcome by investigating the association between rumination and the two subcomponents of inhibition: response inhibition and attentional inhibition. This study examined whether and how response inhibition and attentional inhibition were related to rumination as well as worry. University students in Japan (N = 213) conducted the Go/No-Go Task and the Modified Stroop Task. They also completed self-report measures of depression, trait rumination, trait worry, stressors, and aggressive behaviors. Results indicated that response inhibition deficits were positively associated with trait rumination, and this association was mediated by increases in aggressive behaviors and interpersonal stressors. The associations between these variables remained significant even after controlling for depression level. There were no significant direct or indirect associations between attentional inhibition deficits and rumination. These results suggest that response inhibition deficits, among the subcomponents of inhibition, have an indirect positive association with rumination through interpersonal processes. Results also showed nonsignificant differences between rumination and worry in the magnitude of correlation coefficients with the two subcomponents of inhibition. Therefore, it remains unclear whether the positive association with response inhibition is unique to rumination