Treatment of keratoectasia after LASIK by intrastromal corneal ring segments in two patients who had no preoperative risk factors

Minoru Tomita, Naoko Inoue, Tadahiko TsuruShinagawa LASIK Center, Tokyo, JapanPurpose: To report on keratoectasia after laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) in two eyes of two patients who had no obvious preoperative risk factors, and treatment of keratoectasia by intrastromal corneal ring segments.Method: Clinical interventional case report.Results: Two patients underwent LASIK in both eyes at Shinagawa LASIK center, Tokyo. Preoperative standard ophthalmological examinations demonstrated no specific risk factors of keratoectasia. However, each eye of the two patients developed keratoectasia as defined by corneal topography. Treatment for keratoectasia was performed by inserting intrastromal corneal ring segments (ICRS) in the affected eyes. In one eye, KeraRing (MEDIPHACOS, Ltd, Brazil) was inserted, and Intacs SK (Addition Technology Inc, USA) was inserted in the other.Conclusion: Even in eyes where no risk factors for keratoectasia were found following thorough preoperative examinations, keratoectasia could develop after LASIK. ICRS could be effective for the treatment of keratoectasia after LASIK.Keywords: keratoectasia, LASIK, intrastromal corneal ring segment

Impact of Future Design on Workshop Participants’ Time Preferences

In this paper, we examine the impact of Future Design (FD) on public workshops organized in Matsumoto City, Japan, for its city hall renovation plan. We ran an FD workshop and an ordinary workshop as a control, and the participants were randomly assigned to one of the two workshops. We identified the SVO (social value orientation) type (prosocial, proself, and other,) and time preference of each participant using simple questionnaires that were independent of the context of the workshops. We found that proself individuals tend to have shorter time perspectives than prosocial individuals before workshops. While proself individuals who went through the ordinary workshop became even more myopic, we did not detect such adverse effects in the FD workshop. This contrast between the ordinary and FD workshops is consistent with the qualitative differences in the policy outcomes between the two workshops. The discussions in the ordinary workshop tended to focus on resolving today’s needs, such as acquiring more rooms, more services, etc., while the discussions in the FD workshop focused on the more fundamental functions of the city hall that will be needed in the future, thereby leading to more constructive policy proposals. Such demand-based discussions in the ordinary workshop may have been a result of the growing myopia within proself participants who insisted on ensuring their current needs.ArticleFaculty of Economics and Law Shinshu University Staff Paper Series. 3 : 1-23 (2020). (Staff Paper No.20-01).technical repor

VLBI Monitoring of 3C 84 (NGC 1275) in Early Phase of the 2005 Outburst

Multi-epoch Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) study of the sub-pc scale jet of 3C 84 is presented. We carried out 14-epoch VLBI observations during 2006-2009 with the Japanese VLBI Network (JVN) and the VLBI Exploration of Radio Astrometry (VERA), immediately following the radio outburst that began in 2005. We confirmed that the outburst was associated with the central ~1 pc core, accompanying the emergence of a new component. This is striking evidence of the recurrence of jet activity. The new component became brighter during 2008, in contrast to the constant gamma-ray emission that was observed with the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope during the same time. We found that the projected speed of the new component is 0.23c from 2007/297 (2007 October 24) to 2009/114 (2009 April 24). The direction of movement of this component differs from that of the pre-existing component by ~40 degree. This is the first measurement of kinematics of a sub-pc jet in a gamma-ray active phase. Possible detection of jet deceleration and the jet kinematics in connection with the gamma-ray emission is discussed.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication in PAS

エジプト紅海沿岸のマングローブ林の林分構造

Established mangrove forests along the coastal area of the Arabian Peninsula and African side of the Red Sea are uniquely different from mangrove forests in other parts of the world because of their low biodiversity and harsh habitat of arid and highly saline conditions. Therefore mangrove forests in this area appear in patchy and scattered patterns at mouths of wadi or in sheltered lagoons with rare and irregular flooding. Most of them are pure forests of Avicennia marina, occasionally mixed with Rhizophora mucronata in the southern part of the Red Sea. In this study, we analyze the forest structure of A. marina and discuss the regeneration strategy and the forest dynamics of this unique mangrove species. Three experimental plots of 1000 to 2000 trees/ha were selected from north to south along the Red Sea coast. The highest tree size (6.8m) suggested severe effects of the high salinity of the Red Sea (3.2 to 4.9%) on tree growth. Dense mantle vegetation had developed at the forest edge facing the open sea to protect the forest interior against strong waves and wind. Tree growth was also prevented by severe drought on the landside edge of the forest. All the forests had a dense seedling bank throughout the forest floor, with a very high rate of turnover and regeneration, which seldom occurred in other forests

Central Mechanism Controlling Pubertal Onset in Mammals: A Triggering Role of Kisspeptin

Pubertal onset is thought to be timed by an increase in pulsatile gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH)/gonadotropin secretion in mammals. The underlying mechanism of pubertal onset in mammals is still an open question. Evidence accumulated in the last 15 years suggests that kisspeptin/neurokinin B/dynorphin A (KNDy) neurons in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus play a key role in pubertal onset by triggering pulsatile GnRH/gonadotropin secretin in mammals. Specifically, KNDy neurons are now considered a part of GnRH pulse generator, in which neurokinin B facilitates and dynorphin A inhibits, the synchronized discharge of KNDy neurons in autocrine and/or paracrine manners. Kisspeptin serves as a potent secretagogue of GnRH secretion and thus its release is fundamental to pubertal increase in GnRH/gonadotropin secretion in mammals. Proposed mechanisms inhibiting Kiss1 (kisspeptin gene) expression during childhood to juvenile varies from species to species: we envisage that negative feedback action of estrogen plays a key role in the inhibition of Kiss1 expression in KNDy neurons in rodents and sheep, whereas estrogen-independent inhibition of kisspeptin secretion by γ-amino butyric acid or neuropeptide Y are suggested to be responsible for the pre-pubertal suppression of GnRH/gonadotropin secretion in primates. Taken together, the timing of pubertal onset is postulated to be controlled by upstream regulators for kisspeptin biosynthesis and secretion in mammals

Narratives Of Navigation: Refugee-Background Women’s Higher Education Journeys In Bangladesh And New Zealand

Navigating higher education (HE) is a complex exercise for many students, including those from refugee backgrounds. Internationally, only a very small percentage of refugee-background students access HE. In a 2018 study, we explored 37 women students’ narrative accounts of international study in Bangladesh and New Zealand. Our participants included 10 women from refugee backgrounds. Theoretically, our research was a response to calls from critical scholars to consider the different circumstances that shape students’ international study, and the ethical and pedagogical implications of these for ‘host’ institutions. In this article, we explore the refugee-background women’s accounts of accessing, navigating, and thinking beyond HE, and their thoughts on factors that support refugee-background students’ success in HE. We argue for the need to: reject ‘grand narratives’ in relation to refugee-background students; acknowledge students’ ‘necessary skillfulness’ while supporting their capacity to navigate HE; and recognise refugee-background students’ commitments and influence beyond HE institutions.N/