An Improved Scheme for Interest Mining Based on a Reconfiguration of the Peer-to-Peer Overlay

Tan et al. proposed a scheme to improve the quality of a file search in unstructured Peer-to-Peer systems by focusing on the similarity of interest of the participating peers. Although it certainly improves the cost/performance ratio of a simple flooding-based scheme used in conventional systems, the Tan's method has a serious drawback such that a query cannot reach a target peer if a requesting peer is not connected with the target peer through a path consisting of peers to have similar interest to the given query. In order to overcome such drawback of the Tan's method, we propose a scheme to reconfigure the underlying network in such a way that a requesting peer has a neighbor interested in the given query, before transmitting a query to its neighbors. The performance of the proposed scheme is evaluated by simulation. The result of simulation indicates that it certainly overcomes the drawback of the Tan's method

Accuracy of Articulation Rate Control with Visual Feedback in Persons who do and do not Stutter

AbstractThe ability to control speech rate with real-time visual feedback was compared between people who do and do not stutter (PWS/PWNS). Nine PWS and 7 PWNS participated in the study. Fifteen sentences were read aloud after repeating a played-back sentence twice in each of 6 trials at 6 different target speeds. The 6 trials comprise a session, and there were 3 sessions (A1, B, A2) with only the second session (B) accompanied by real-time visual feedback of the subject's speech rate and the target speed. The speech rate excluding pauses or dysfluencies was significantly reduced in B and A2 from that in session A1. Although there was no difference in speech rate between B and A2, (a) there was an interaction between the target rate and the group in session B, and (b) the variability in the error of the PWS was larger than that of the PWNS in the retention session (A2). These results suggests (a) that at least some of the PWS use a different strategy in controlling their speech rate than PWNS, and (b) that some of the PWS were less accurate in retaining the learned speech rate in the previous session B with visual feedback than the PWNS, although they did use the visual feedback information and learned the speech rate, to a similar averaged accuracy during the feedback

RNomics of Thermus themophilus HB8 by DNA microarray and next-generation sequencing

By using the data obtained by the DNA microarray analysis for the intergenic regions applied to RNA samples extracted from Thermus thermophilus HB8, seven small non-coding RNAs, TtR-1 to TtR-7, were found to be expressed in the cells growing in rich and/or minimal media. By analysing the time course of the expression for the cell growth in combination with the sequence comparison to the known RNAs, two RNAs, TtR-1 and TtR-2, are suggested to be riboswitches. The existence of the seven RNAs and the exact sequence and length, ranging 77-284 nt, were confirmed by the next-generation sequencing. By the combination of these two high-throughput techniques, our understanding of RNAs in the cell will be increased significantly

Pharmacokinetics of Beclomethasone Dipropionate in an Hydrofluoroalkane-134a Propellant System in Japanese Children with Bronchial Asthma

ABSTRACTBackgroundHydrofluoroalkane-134a (HFA) has been shown to be a safe replacement for chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) as a pharmaceutical propellant, with the advantage that it has no ozone-depleting potential. This is the first report of the pharmacokinetics of beclomethasone dipropionate (BDP) delivered from a pressurized solution formulation using an HFA propellant system (HFA-BDP) in Japanese children with bronchial asthma.MethodsPlasma concentrations of beclomethasone 17-monopropionate (17-BMP), a major metabolite of BDP, following an inhaled dose of HFA-BDP (200 μg as four inhalations from 50 μg/actuation) in five Japanese children with bronchial asthma were quantified and analyzed by a non-compartmental analysis to obtain pharmacokinetic parameters.ResultsThe area under the concentration-time curve from time zero to the last quantifiable time (AUC0-t) was 1659 ± 850 pg • h/mL (arithmetic mean ± standard deviation (SD)), the maximum concentration observed (Cmax) was 825 ± 453 pg/mL and the apparent elimination half-life (t1/2) was 2.1 ± 0.7 hours. The time to reach Cmax (Tmax) was 0.5 hours in all patients. No special relationship was observed between these parameters and age or body weight. These parameters were compared with the previously reported parameters of American children with bronchial asthma. The Japanese/American ratio of the geometric means of each parameter was 1.36 for AUC0-t, 1.04 for Cmax and 1.4 for t1/2. The median of Tmax was 0.5 hours in American patients as well as Japanese patients.ConclusionsThe pharmacokinetics of HFA-BDP in Japanese children with bronchial asthma are reported for the first time and a similarity to those in American children is suggested

X-ray absorption spectroscopy and novel electronic properties in heavy fermion compounds YbT2Zn20 (T: Rh and Ir)

YbT2Zn20 (T: Rh and Ir), which crystallizes in the cubic CeCr2Al20-type structure, is a member of the well-known heavy fermion compounds, indicating a huge electronic specific heat coefficient γ ≊ 500 mJ/(K2centerdotmol). We have measured temperature and magnetic field dependences of Yb valence in YbT2Zn20(T: Rh and Ir) at ambient pressure by the Lm edge x- ray absorption spectroscopy in order to investigate the valence state of Yb 4f electrons in these compounds. It is revealed that the Yb valence in both compounds significantly decreases with temperature below about 100 K and increases with increasing magnetic field at low temperatures in contrast to the case of YbCo2Zn20.International Conference on Strongly Correlated Electron Systems 2014 (SCES2014), 7–14 July 2014, Grenoble, Franc

Immunohistochemical Detection of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection in the Lung of Child Autopsy Cases

Viral infection in the respiratory tract is suspected in some cases of infant death; however, in most of those cases, routine postmortem examination has been unable to determine a definitive etiology. Using immunohistochemistry with a specific antibody to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in paraffin sections, we investigated a possible association of RSV infection with interstitial pneumonia or bronchitis in four child autopsy cases while two adult cases with cytomegalic inclusion disease, pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, or acute interstitial pneumonia were also included as negative control. Immunoreactivity for RSV was detected in one of the 4 child cases; the bronchial and bronchiolar epithelium were immunostained. No immunoreactivity was observed in the two adult cases. Retrospective microscopic examination in routinely stained slides could find no distinctive findings indicating RSV infection in this case as well as the other three cases. Although further evidence, e.g., detection of the viral nucleic acid in specimens, may be needed, the present results suggest that this antibody can be utilized for detection of RSV infection in autopsy samples

The Method of Mixing Plaster with Water at Meirin College Dental Clinic : II. Gravimetric Measuring of Powder and Water

附属歯科診療所の歯科衛生士が採得した石膏を水と同様に重量計量して,練和する石膏の混水重量比を測定した.その結果,混水比は0.20～0.26,平均0.22 (SD :0.013)と,メーカー指定の標準混水比は0.23と極近似したものであり,非常に安定した石膏練和が行えていることが明らかとなった.また,歯科衛生士ヘのアンケートから,印象の種類によって混水比を変化させて粘度を調整するとしていたが,実測した混水比の値には変化は見られなかった

The Method of Mixing Plaster with Water at Meirin College Dental Clinic : I. Volume Measuring of Powder and Water

本学附属歯科診療所では,採得されたアルジネート印象は歯科衛生士が模型材である硬石膏を練和,注入し,模型を製作している.硬石膏および水は計量カップで量り,容積を用いて計量している.本学附属歯科診療所の歯科衛生士10名にアンケート調査を行ったところ,すべての歯科衛生士が混水比を意識せずに注入しやすい石膏を練和するように心がけていることが明らかになった.そこで附属歯科診療所にて練和された石膏の混水比を調査することにした.また,この石膏を用いて円柱型の試験片(22×21mm)を製作し圧縮強さ,試験片の石膏密度および試験片中の内部気泡の有無を調ベた.その結果,混水比は0.20～0.24の範囲に分布して,平均値は0.22,標準偏差0.010であり,メーカー記載の標準混水比である0.23と近似した値が得られていた.歯科衛生士10名のうち8名は標準偏差が0.008以内で非常に安定した数値が得を示し,本院の歯科衛生士は常に一定の流動性をもった石膏泥を練和していることが明らかとなった.混水比が0.23であった試験片の圧縮強さの平均は30.23MPaであり,メーカー記載の49MPaと比較して小さくなる結果となった.圧縮強さと混水比の間には強い相関関係が見られたが,試験片の石膏密度および内部気泡の発生状況と混水比の間に相関関係は見られなかった

Pressure-induced structural phase transition and new superconducting phase in UTe2

We report on the crystal structure and electronic properties of the heavy fermion superconductor UTe2 at high pressure up to 11 GPa, as investigated by X-ray diffraction and electrical resistivity experiments. The X-ray diffraction measurements under high pressure using a synchrotron light source reveal anisotropic linear compressibility of the unit cell up to 3.5 GPa, while a pressure-induced structural phase transition is observed above 3.5-4GPa at room temperature, where the body-centered orthorhombic crystal structure with the space group Immm changes into a body-centered tetragonal structure with the space group I4/mmm. The molar volume drops abruptly at the critical pressure, while the distance between the first-nearest neighbor of U atoms increases, implying a switch from the heavy electronic states to the weakly correlated electronic states. Surprisingly, a new superconducting phase at pressures higher than 7 GPa was detected at Tsc above 2K with a relatively low upper-critical field, Hc2(0). The resistivity above 3.5GPa, thus, in the high-pressure tetragonal phase, shows a large drop below 230 K, which may also be related to a considerable change from the heavy electronic states to the weakly correlated electronic states.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figure