A new species of Cybaeus with short genitalia from central Honshu, Japan (Araneae: Cybaeidae)

Spiders of the genus Cybaeus are diverse in Japan and exhibit extensive morphological variation of their genitalia among species. Among Japanese Cybaeus, several species possess an elongated embolus in males and elongated spermathecae in females. Here, we describe Cybaeus iharai sp. nov. from Nagano Prefecture, central Honshu, Japan, which possesses a short embolus in males and short copulatory ducts in females. In addition, DNA sequences of the new species were obtained for future phylogenetic analyses

Validation of CFD Codes for the Helicopter Wake in Ground Effect

When a helicopter takes off, lands, or makes hovering or taxiing flights in ground effect, its downwash interferes with the ground. Encounters with such highly turbulent helicopter wakes have been blamed for two fixed-wing aircraft crashes in the United Kingdom. Additional incidents including tents blown away are reported in Japan. Due to these accidents, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the University of Glasgow (UoG) are investigating the helicopter wake structure in ground effect, especially during taxiing, by means of computational fluid dynamics (CFD). In this study, CFD codes of UoG and JAXA are validated through comparing numerical results of each party and flight experiment data. As a result, it is found that the CFD codes show qualitatively the same results each other and they are also close to the experiment

A Case of Dapsone-induced Mild Methemoglobinemia with Dyspnea and Cyanosis

Dapsone is a dual-function drug with antimicrobial and antiprotozoal effects and anti-inflammatory features (1). In dermatology, it is a first choice for conditions such as leprosy, IgA pemphigus, dermatitis herpetiformis, and linear IgA bullous dermatosis, or an adjunctive treatment for, e.g. bullous pemphigoid (BP) and pemphigus vulgaris (1). However, dapsone is associated with some adverse effects, including methemoglobinemia (1)

A Case of Dapsone-induced Mild Methemoglobinemia with Dyspnea and Cyanosis

Dapsone is a dual-function drug with antimicrobial and antiprotozoal effects and anti-inflammatory features (1). In dermatology, it is a first choice for conditions such as leprosy, IgA pemphigus, dermatitis herpetiformis, and linear IgA bullous dermatosis, or an adjunctive treatment for, e.g. bullous pemphigoid (BP) and pemphigus vulgaris (1). However, dapsone is associated with some adverse effects, including methemoglobinemia (1)

Thermal Conductivity in the Bose-Einstein Condensed State of Triplons in the Bond-Alternating Spin-Chain System Pb2V3O9

In order to clarify the origin of the enhancement of the thermal conductivity in the Bose-Einstein Condensed (BEC) state of field-induced triplons, we have measured the thermal conductivity along the [101] direction parallel to spin-chains, $kappa_{\|[101]}$, and perpendicular to spin-chains, $kappa_{\perp[101]}$, of the S=1/2 bond-alternating spin-chain system Pb2V3O9 in magnetic fields up to 14 T. With increasing field at 3 K, it has been found that both $kappa_{\|[101]}$ and $kappa_{\perp[101]}$ are suppressed in the gapped normal state in low fields. In the BEC state of field-induced triplons in high fields, on the other hand, $kappa_{\|[101]}$ is enhanced with increasing field, while $kappa_{\perp[101]}$ is suppressed. That is, the thermal conductivity along the direction, where the magnetic interaction is strong, is markedly enhanced in the BEC state. Accordingly, our results suggest that the enhancement of $kappa_{\|[101]}$ in the BEC state is caused by the enhancement of the thermal conductivity due to triplons on the basis of the two-fluid model, as in the case of the superfluid state of liquid 4He.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Regulation of Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase kinase beta by cAMP signaling

BACKGROUND: Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase kinase (CaMKK) is a pivotal activator of CaMKI, CaMKIV and 5'-AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), controlling Ca2+-dependent intracellular signaling including various neuronal, metabolic and pathophysiological responses. Recently, we demonstrated that CaMKKβ is feedback phosphorylated at Thr144 by the downstream AMPK, resulting in the conversion of CaMKKβ into Ca2+/CaM-dependent enzyme. However, the regulatory phosphorylation of CaMKKβ at Thr144 in intact cells and in vivo remains unclear. METHODS: Anti-phosphoThr144 antibody was used to characterize the site-specific phosphorylation of CaMKKβ in immunoprecipitated samples from mouse cerebellum and in transfected mammalian cells that were treated with various agonists and protein kinase inhibitors. CaMKK activity assay and LC-MS/MS analysis were used for biochemical characterization of phosphorylated CaMKKβ. RESULTS: Our data suggest that the phosphorylation of Thr144 in CaMKKβ is rapidly induced by cAMP/cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) signaling in CaMKKβ-transfected HeLa cells, that is physiologically relevant in mouse cerebellum. We confirmed that the catalytic subunit of PKA was capable of directly phosphorylating CaMKKβ at Thr144 in vitro and in transfected cells. In addition, the basal phosphorylation of CaMKKβ at Thr144 in transfected HeLa cells was suppressed by AMPK inhibitor (compound C). PKA-catalyzed phosphorylation reduced the autonomous activity of CaMKKβ in vitro without significant effect on the Ca2+/CaM-dependent activity, resulting in the conversion of CaMKKβ into Ca2+/CaM-dependent enzyme. CONCLUSION: cAMP/PKA signaling may confer Ca2+-dependency to the CaMKKβ-mediated signaling pathway through direct phosphorylation of Thr144 in intact cells. GENERAL SIGNIFICANCE: Our results suggest a novel cross-talk between cAMP/PKA and Ca2+/CaM/CaMKKβ signaling through regulatory phosphorylation

A combined quantum-classical method applied to material design: optimization and discovery of photochromic materials for photopharmacology applications

Integration of quantum chemistry simulations, machine learning techniques, and optimization calculations is expected to accelerate material discovery by making large chemical spaces amenable to computational study; a challenging task for classical computers. In this work, we develop a combined quantum-classical computing scheme involving the computational-basis Variational Quantum Deflation (cVQD) method for calculating excited states of a general classical Hamiltonian, such as Ising Hamiltonian. We apply this scheme to the practical use case of generating photochromic diarylethene (DAE) derivatives for photopharmacology applications. Using a data set of 384 DAE derivatives quantum chemistry calculation results, we show that a factorization-machine-based model can construct an Ising Hamiltonian to accurately predict the wavelength of maximum absorbance of the derivatives, $\lambda_{\rm max}$, for a larger set of 4096 DAE derivatives. A 12-qubit cVQD calculation for the constructed Ising Hamiltonian provides the ground and first four excited states corresponding to five DAE candidates possessing large $\lambda_{\rm max}$. On a quantum simulator, results are found to be in excellent agreement with those obtained by an exact eigensolver. Utilizing error suppression and mitigation techniques, cVQD on a real quantum device produces results with accuracy comparable to the ideal calculations on a simulator. Finally, we show that quantum chemistry calculations for the five DAE candidates provides a path to achieving large $\lambda_{\rm max}$ and oscillator strengths by molecular engineering of DAE derivatives. These findings pave the way for future work on applying hybrid quantum-classical approaches to large system optimization and the discovery of novel materials.Comment: 13pages, 9 figure

コウクウガン ケイブ テンイ リンパセツ ノ ケンシュツ ニ タイスル チョウオウパ サンジゲン イメージング ノ ユウヨウセイ

Three dimensional ultrasonographic imaging was performed for the cervical lymphadenopathy. Forty lymph nodes with suspicion of metastatic lymphadenopathy out of 20 patients with oral cancers were served for the present study. We could not judge the presence/absence of the metastasis by routine B mode or power Doppler imaging alone. Out of the 40 lymph nodes, 18 metastatic lymphadenopathies were proved histopathologically. Additionally, 11 lymph nodes out of 8 patients with nonspecific reactive lymphadenopathies were included as the control. The pattern of the circumferential blood flow of the lymph nodes was reviewed by the three-dimensional maximum intensity projection (3D MIP) view that was obtained from 3D power Doppler imaging. They were divided into 4 categories ; linear blood flow, mesh like blood flow, spotty blood flow and no circumferential flow. The spotty flow was almost exclusively found in the metastatic lymph nodes. Its accuracy, sensitivity and specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value for detecting metastatic lymphadenopathy were 0.73, 0.44, 0.95, 0.89, and 0.68, respectively. This spotty flow was situated at the marginal portion and/or around the lymph nodes by the analysis of the two-dimensional display. We could not differentiate whether it was arterial or venous flow. As the three dimensional sonographic imaging is the time-consuming technique compared to the routine B mode or power Doppler imaging, we cannot routinely perform it. However, it would play a supplementary role for detecting lymph node metastasis, especially if we cannot judge them by the two dimensional imaging alone