Distributions of a halophilous and a riparian species of harvestmen along Sendai River, Tottori City, with the first records of harvestmen in Tottori Sand Dunes

Distributions of a maritime harvestman, Psathyropus tenuipes and a riparian harvestman Paraumbogrella pumilio were investigated along the Sendai River, Tottori City, Honshu, Japan. Psathyropus tenuipes was found from the mouth of the river to the site 4 km upstream where slight salinity (0.1 PPT) was detected in the river. On the other hand, no specimens were found from the upstream sites where no salinity was detected.This indicates that the species needs at least a slight salinity for its occurrence. Paraumbogrella pumilio was found at five sites from the dry riverbed near the Shobu floodgate to a site on the right bank of Sendai River just upstream of Yachiyo Bridge. Occurrence of this species seems to be related to presence of open ground covered with lower grasses on the banks. Recently, the both species were also found from the right bank of the river mouth of Sendai River that is also a part of Tottori Sand Dunes. These are the first records of harvestmen from Tottori Sand Dunes

New records of Ummidia fragaria (Araneae: Ctenizidae) from Tottori Prefecture, Honshu, Japan.

Four localities (three in Tottori City, one in Hinocho) of an endangered spider Ummidia fragaria (Araneae, Ctenizidae) are newly recorded from Tottori Prefecture, Japan. All the localities are in the precincts of shrines

Wood Property Variation in Acacia Auriculiformis Growing in Bangladesh

This study examined the radial variations of wood properties in 11-yr-old Acacia auriculiformis grown in Bangladesh having diameters of 222 ± 38 mm. The basic density, fiber length, and fiber length increment increased up to about 80 mm radial distance from the pith and then were almost constant toward the bark. The compressive strength (CS) increased from the pith to 50 mm and then became nearly constant to the bark. Conversely, the specific compressive strength, the ratio of CS to air-dried density, was almost constant from pith to bark, indicating positive relationships. However, the air-dried density explained only 50% variation of the CS. On the basis of radial variation of basic density, the core wood and outer wood boundary can be delineated at 70 - 90 mm from the pith. Similarly, the fiber length and fiber length increment curves showed that this boundary could be marked at 60 - 90 mm from the pith. The selected wood properties except CS varied significantly among the trees, which indicated the potential of tree selection for wood quality improvement through tree breeding

Cortical Regions Encoding Hardness Perception Modulated by Visual Information Identified by Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging With Multivoxel Pattern Analysis

Recent studies have revealed that hardness perception is determined by visual information along with the haptic input. This study investigated the cortical regions involved in hardness perception modulated by visual information using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and multivoxel pattern analysis (MVPA). Twenty-two healthy participants were enrolled. They were required to place their left and right hands at the front and back, respectively, of a mirror attached to a platform placed above them while lying in a magnetic resonance scanner. In conditions SFT, MED, and HRD, one of three polyurethane foam pads of varying hardness (soft, medium, and hard, respectively) was presented to the left hand in a given trial, while only the medium pad was presented to the right hand in all trials. MED was defined as the control condition, because the visual and haptic information was congruent. During the scan, the participants were required to push the pad with the both hands while observing the reflection of the left hand and estimate the hardness of the pad perceived by the right (hidden) hand based on magnitude estimation. Behavioral results showed that the perceived hardness was significantly biased toward softer or harder in >73% of the trials in conditions SFT and HRD; we designated these trials as visually modulated (SFTvm and HRDvm, respectively). The accuracy map was calculated individually for each of the pair-wise comparisons of (SFTvm vs. MED), (HRDvm vs. MED), and (SFTvm vs. HRDvm) by a searchlight MVPA, and the cortical regions encoding the perceived hardness with visual modulation were identified by conjunction of the three accuracy maps in group analysis. The cluster was observed in the right sensory motor cortex, left anterior intraparietal sulcus (aIPS), bilateral parietal operculum (PO), and occipito-temporal cortex (OTC). Together with previous findings on such cortical regions, we conclude that the visual information of finger movements processed in the OTC may be integrated with haptic input in the left aIPS, and the subjective hardness perceived by the right hand with visual modulation may be processed in the cortical network between the left PO and aIPS

エミシズマブは凝固第VIII因子と同様にフィブリン構造およびその安定性を向上させる

Introduction: Emicizumab is an antifactor (F)IXa/FX bispecific antibody, mimicking FVIIIa cofactor function. Emi prophylaxis effectively reduces bleeding events in patients with haemophilia A. The physical properties of emicizumab-induced fibrin clots remain to be investigated, however. Aim: We have investigated the stability and structure of emicizumab-induced fibrin clots. Methods: Coagulation was initiated by activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) trigger and prothrombin time (PT)/aPTT-mixed trigger in FVIII-deficient plasma with various concentrations of emicizumab or recombinant FVIII. The turbidity and stability of fibrin clots were assessed by clot waveform and clot-fibrinolysis waveform analyses, respectively. The resulting fibrin was analysed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Results: Using an aPTT trigger, the turbidity was decreased and the fibrinolysis times were prolonged in the presence of emicizumab dose-dependently. Scanning electron microscopy imaging demonstrated that emicizumab improved the structure of fibrin network with thinner fibres than in its absence. Although emicizumab shortened the aPTT dramatically, the nature of emicizumab-induced fibrin clots did not reflect the hypercoagulable state. Similarly, using a PT/aPTT-mixed trigger that could evaluate potential emicizumab activity, emicizumab improved the stability and structure of fibrin clot in a series of experiments. In this circumstance, fibrin clot properties with emicizumab at 50 and 100 µg/mL appeared to be comparable to those with FVIII at ~12 and ~24-32 IU/dL, respectively. Conclusion: Emicizumab effectively improved fibrin clot stability and structure in FVIII-deficient plasma, and the physical properties of emicizumab-induced fibrin clots were similar to those with FVIII.博士（医学）・甲第787号・令和3年3月15日© 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/hae.13961, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/hae.13961. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions

DME-Fired Water-Tube Boiler - A R&D Study

Increasing attention has been given to the development of low-NOx combustion technology for DME (Dimethyl Ether). The present paper describes the R&D study for water-tube boiler carried out in Kansai University and Hirakawa Guidam Co., Ltd. under the support of DME project from METI. The major problem in DME use is the difficulty in the application of premixed flame due to its low ignition temperature and rather high burning velocity. However, the previously developed tube-nested combustor, i.e. water-tubes installed in the empty furnace, becomes effective means together with the flue-gas recirculation to overcome such difficulty in achieving low-NOx combustion. This paper begins with a brief review of the R&D study of the tube-nested combustor specifically designed for city gas. Then the further development for DME-fired water-tube boiler is described

Estimation of the Urinary Galactitol Level in Children by Capillary Gas Chromatography

A rapid and efficient capillary gas chromatography was utilized to measure urinary galactitol in 133 non-galactosemic children on a free diet. The children aged from 12 days to 14 years were divided by age into six groups. The urinary galactitol concentration was found to be the highest (64.04 mmol/mol creatinine) in the neonatal group and the lowest (7.12 mmol/mol creatinine) in the group over 2 years old. It is concluded that the urinary concentration of galactitol is strongly age-dependent

Superhydrophilicity on nano-rough carbon surfaces achieved by hyperthermal oxygen-atom beam exposure

In order to investigate a method to increase hydrophilicity on nano-rough carbon surfaces, a nano-rough surface of C(60) film and an atomically flat surface of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) were oxidized by hyperthermal oxygen-atom beam exposure and the hydrophilicities of the surfaces were investigated. Superhydrophilicity were achieved on these exposed carbon surfaces, which had low O/C ratio of approximately 28% and surface roughness (Ra) of approximately 3 nm. The direct oxidations on sp(2) bonded carbon atoms (basal plane) of these two carbon materials by the exposure of hyperthermal O-atom beam would contribute the superhydrophilicity

Five-point Likert scaling on MRI predicts clinically significant prostate carcinoma

Background: To clarify the relationship between the probability of prostate cancer scaled using a 5-point Likert system and the biological characteristics of corresponding tumor foci. Methods: The present study involved 44 patients undergoing 3.0-Tesla multiparametric MRI before laparoscopic radical prostatectomy. Tracing based on pathological and MRI findings was performed. The relationship between the probability of cancer scaled using the 5-point Likert system and the biological characteristics of corresponding tumor foci was evaluated. Results: A total of 102 tumor foci were identified histologically from the 44 specimens. Of the 102 tumors, 55 were assigned a score based on MRI findings (score 1: n = 3; score 2: n = 3; score 3: n = 16; score 4: n = 11 score 5: n = 22), while 47 were not pointed out on MRI. The tracing study revealed that the proportion of >0.5 cm3 tumors increased according to the upgrade of Likert scores (score 1 or 2: 33 %; score 3: 68.8 %; score 4 or 5: 90.9 %, χ2 test, p 7 also increased from scale 2 to scale 5 (scale 2: 0 %; scale 3: 56.3 %; scale 4: 72.7 %; 5: 90.9 %, χ2 test, p = 0.0001). On using score 3 or higher as the threshold of cancer detection on MRI, the detection rate markedly improved if the tumor volume exceeded 0.5 cm3 (<0.2 cm3: 10.3 %; 0.2-0.5 cm3: 25 %; 0.5-1.0 cm3: 66.7 %; 1.0 < cm3: 92.1 %). Conclusions: Each Likert scale favobably reflected the corresponding tumor’s volume and Gleason score. Our observations show that “score 3 or higher” could be a useful threshold to predict clinically significant carcinoma when considering treatment options