Structural Comparisons of the Semantic Interface of the Top Cosmetic Brands on the Web by Network Analysis

Web presentations of consumer products serve as an interface between businesses and consumers. The present paperfocused on the verbal information on the webs of the top two skincare brands in Japan. Term by context matrices createdfrom the texts were truncated by SVD to construct graphs that represented high similarities among terms. In pursuit ofessential terms and the networks surrounding them, the primary clusters were decomposed in to communities in whichthe core nodes and their neighborhoods were identified. Though the brands differed greatly in concentrations of clusters,communities and neighborhoods, they showed similarities in the properties of cores. Of particular interest was the coreterm "plump" that appeared in both brands. Probably, this reflected the shared business awareness of the central concernabout skincare among the Japanese consumers. In lieu of conclusions, our plan of further inquiries were stated

Relationship between cognitive function and prevalence of decrease in intrinsic academic motivation in adolescents

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Decrease in intrinsic motivation is a common complaint among elementary and junior high school students, and is related to poor academic performance. Since grade-dependent development of cognitive functions also influences academic performance by these students, we examined whether cognitive functions are related to the prevalence of decrease in intrinsic academic motivation.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The study group consisted of 134 elementary school students from 4th to 6th grades and 133 junior high school students from 7th to 9th grades. Participants completed a questionnaire on intrinsic academic motivation. They also performed paper-and-pencil and computerized cognitive tests to measure abilities in motor processing, spatial construction, semantic fluency, immediate memory, short-term memory, delayed memory, spatial working memory, and selective, alternative, and divided attention.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In multivariate logistic regression analyses adjusted for grade and gender, scores of none of the cognitive tests were correlated with the prevalence of decrease in intrinsic academic motivation in elementary school students. However, low digit span forward test score and score for comprehension of the story in the <it>kana </it>pick-out test were positively correlated with the prevalence of decrease in intrinsic academic motivation in junior high school students.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The present findings suggest that decrease in capacity for verbal memory is associated with the prevalence of decrease in intrinsic academic motivation among junior high school students.</p

Mental fatigue caused by prolonged cognitive load associated with sympathetic hyperactivity

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>It is known that chronic fatigue is associated with sympathetic hyperactivity. However, the relationship between autonomic function and mental fatigue caused by a prolonged mental load in healthy humans is still unclear. Thus, in order to clarify the mechanisms underlying mental fatigue, we examined the association between mental fatigue and autonomic functions.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The study group comprised 10 healthy participants. To induce mental fatigue, participants performed mental tasks, which consisted of the advanced trail making test, <it>kana </it>pick-out test and mirror drawing test, for 8 hr, corresponding to a normal work day. Autonomic functions were measured by accelerated plethysmography before and after the fatigue-inducing mental tasks. As a control, the same participants completed an 8-hr relaxation session 4 weeks before the fatigue session.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>After the 8-hr relaxation session, low-frequency component power (LF), high-frequency component power (HF) and low-frequency component power/high-frequency component power ratio (LF/HF ratio) were not changed from baseline. In contrast, after the fatigue session, the HF and LF/HF ratio were significantly changed from baseline; specifically, the HF was lower and LF/HF ratio was higher as compared to those after the relaxation session.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Sympathetic hyperactivity based on decreased parasympathetic activity is associated with mental fatigue induced by prolonged cognitive load.</p

Low visual information-processing speed and attention are predictors of fatigue in elementary and junior high school students

Background: Fatigue is a common complaint among elementary and junior high school students, and is known to be associated with reduced academic performance. Recently, we demonstrated that fatigue was correlated with decreased cognitive function in these students. However, no studies have identified cognitive predictors of fatigue. Therefore, we attempted to determine independent cognitive predictors of fatigue in these students.Methods: We performed a prospective cohort study. One hundred and forty-two elementary and junior high school students without fatigue participated. They completed a variety of paper-and-pencil tests, including list learning and list recall tests, kana pick-out test, semantic fluency test, figure copying test, digit span forward test, and symbol digit modalities test. The participants also completed computerized cognitive tests (tasks A to E on the modified advanced trail making test). These cognitive tests were used to evaluate motor-and information-processing speed, immediate and delayed memory function, auditory and visual attention, divided and switching attention, retrieval of learned material, and spatial construction. One year after the tests, a questionnaire about fatigue (Japanese version of the Chalder Fatigue Scale) was administered to all the participants.Results: After the follow-up period, we confirmed 40 cases of fatigue among 118 students. In multivariate logistic regression analyses adjusted for grades and gender, poorer performance on visual information-processing speed and attention tasks was associated with increased risk of fatigue.Conclusions: Reduced visual information-processing speed and poor attention are independent predictors of fatigue in elementary and junior high school students

Experimental Study of a Novel Method of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Using a Combination of Percutaneous Cardiopulmonary Support and Liposome-encapsulated Hemoglobin (TRM645)

Percutaneous cardiopulmonary support (PCPS) has been applied for cardiopulmonary arrest (CPA). We have developed a novel method of cardiopulmonary resuscitation using PCPS combined with liposome-encapsulated hemoglobin (TRM645) to improve oxygen delivery to vital organs. Ventricular fibrillation was electrically induced to an adult goat for 10 min. Next, PCPS (30 ml/kg/min, V/Q: 1) was performed for 20 min. Then, external defibrillation was attempted and observed for 120 min. The TRM group (n5) was filled with 300 mL of TRM645 for the PCPS circuit. The control group (n5) was filled with the same volume of saline. The delivery of oxygen (DO2) and oxygen consumption (VO2) decreased markedly by PCPS after CPA, compared to the preoperative values. DO2 was kept at a constant level during PCPS in both groups, but VO2 slowly decreased at 5, 10, and 15 min of PCPS in the control groups, demonstrating that systemic oxygen metabolism decreased with time. In contrast, the decreases in VO2 were small in the TRM group at 5, 10, and 15 min of PCPS, demonstrating that TRM645 continuously maintained systemic oxygen consumption even at a low flow rate. AST and LDH in the TRM group were lower than the control. There were significant differences at 120 min after the restoration of spontaneous circulation (p&#60;0.05).</p

本邦で分離されたカルバペネマーゼ産生肺炎桿菌の分子遺伝学的解析

Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae represent a serious public health threat worldwide. Carbapenemase genes, harbored on a transferable plasmid, have been isolated globally with distinct geographical features. Klebsiella pneumoniae, included in Enterobacteriaceae, also produces carbapenemase and often shows hypervirulence. Overlapping carbapenem resistance and hypervirulence in K. pneumoniae have been reported, but such strains have not yet been found in Japan. Here, we screened 104 carbapenemase-producing K. pneumoniae isolates collected from 37 hospitals and outpatient clinics in Japan between September 2014 and July 2015. PCR and DNA sequencing demonstrated IMP-1 in 21 isolates and IMP-6 in 83 isolates, 77 of which coharbored CTX-M-2. Most of the isolates showed low MICs toward imipenem and meropenem but high MICs toward penicillin and cephalosporins. Conjugation experiments with an Escherichia coli J53 recipient showed that most of the plasmids in IMP-6 producers were transferable, whereas only one-half of the plasmids in IMP-1 producers were transferable. PCR-based replicon typing and multiplex PCR identified five isolates belonging to the CG258 non-tonB79 cluster and no isolate belonging to the CG258-tonB79 cluster or sequence type 307 (ST307). Four K1-ST23 isolates, 10 K2-ST65 isolates, and 7 K2-ST86 isolates were detected that harbored virulence genes. The resistance genes in 85 isolates were transferable, but the virulence genes were not transferred. These results demonstrate the acquisition of IMP-type carbapenemase genes and CTX-M-type genes among hypervirulence isolates in Japan, warranting further attention and countermeasures. In this study, we have determined the molecular characteristics and epidemiology of IMP-6 producers that coharbored various CTX-M genes in Japan.IMPORTANCE Carbapenems serve as a last resort for the clinical treatment of multidrug-resistant infections. Therefore, the rapid spread of carbapenemase-producing strains represents a serious public health threat, further limiting antibiotic choices. The current findings of hypervirulent carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae clinical isolates in Japan demonstrate the potential broad spread and transfer of these genes, necessitating close surveillance.博士（医学）・乙第1509号・令和3年3月15日Copyright © 2020 Yonekawa et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)