241 research outputs found
The effect of stuffed animal sleepover and children’s reading habits
ぬいぐるみお泊まり会の効果とぬいぐるみお泊り会に参加を希望する子どもの読書活動傾向について調べた。参加する子どもは公募で集められた。読書活動の増加量を参加群と非参加群で比較した結果,2群間の増加量に有意な差はなかった。さらに,事前の読書活動傾向を2群間で比較した結果,参加群の読書活動傾向は非参加群よりも有意に高かった。本研究の結果は,読書活動傾向の高い子どもがぬいぐるみお泊り会に参加しやすい傾向にあることを示しており,読書活動傾向が高くない子どもが参加できる募集方法の必要性を示唆した
Similar and Differing Distributions Between 18F-FDG-PET and Arterial Spin Labeling Imaging in Temporal Lobe Epilepsy
Background: Despite the increasing use of arterial spin labeling (ASL) in patients with epilepsy, little is known about its brain regional distribution pattern, including diaschisis, and its correspondence with FDG-PET. Here, we investigated the regional match and mismatch between FDG-PET and ASL in temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE).Methods: We recruited 27 patients with unilateral TLE, who underwent inter-ictal ASL and FDG-PET scans. These images were spatially normalized using Statistical Parametric Mapping 12, and the regional values in both ASL and FDG-PET were calculated using PMOD software within 20 volumes of interest (VOIs), including the temporal lobe, adjacent cortices, subcortical structures, and cerebellum. ASL images of 37 healthy controls were also analyzed and compared.Results: Whereas, ASL showed significant side differences, mainly in the temporal and frontal lobes, the significant abnormalities in FDG-PET were more widespread and included the insula and supramarginal gyrus. Ipsilateral thalamic reduction was found in FDG-PET only. The detectability of the focus side compared with the contralateral side was generally higher in FDG-PET. The discriminative values in ASL compared with healthy controls were higher in temporal neocortex and amygdala VOIs.Conclusions: There are similar and differing regional distributions between FDG-PET and ASL in TLE, possibly reflecting regional match and mismatch of cerebral blood flow and metabolism. At this stage, it seems that ASL couldn't present comparable clinical usefulness with FDG-PET. These findings deepen our knowledge of ASL imaging and are potentially useful for its further application
Suzaku Observation of HCG 62: Temperature, Abundance, and Extended Hard X-ray Emission Profiles
We present results of 120 ks observation of a compact group of galaxies
HCG~62 () with Suzaku XIS and HXD-PIN\@. The XIS spectra for four
annular regions were fitted with two temperature {\it vapec} model with
variable abundance, combined with the foreground Galactic component. The
Galactic component was constrained to have a common surface brightness among
the four annuli, and two temperature {\it apec} model was preferred to single
temperature model. We confirmed the multi-temperature nature of the intra-group
medium reported with Chandra and XMM-Newton, with a doughnut-like high
temperature ring at radii 3.3--6.5 in a hardness image. We found Mg, Si, S,
and Fe abundances to be fairly robust. We examined the possible
``high-abundance arc'' at southwest from the center, however Suzaku
data did not confirm it. We suspect that it is a misidentification of an excess
hot component in this region as the Fe line. Careful background study showed no
positive detection of the extended hard X-rays previously reported with ASCA,
in 5--12 keV with XIS and 12--40 keV with HXD-PIN, although our upper limit did
not exclude the ASCA result. There is an indication that the X-ray intensity in
region is % higher than the nominal CXB level (5--12 keV),
and Chandra and Suzaku data suggest that most of this excess could be due to
concentration of hard X-ray sources with an average photon index of
. Cumulative mass of O, Fe and Mg in the group gas and the
metal mass-to-light ratio were derived and compared with those in other groups.
Possible role of AGN or galaxy mergers in this group is also discussed.Comment: 29 pages with 9 figures, accepted for publication in PASJ Vol 60,
second Suzaku special issu
Effects of Postprandial Body Position on Gastrointestinal Motility, the Autonomic Nervous System and Subjective Comfort
We examined postprandial body positions’ effects on gastrointestinal motility, the autonomic nervous system and subjective comfort, i.e., whether lowering the head after a meal is beneficial for gastrointestinal motility and the prevention of pressure ulcer. We examined 10 healthy subjects and compared 3 body positions: (1) Seated upright. (2) Lying on a bed with the head at 60° and knees up by 20° (60° position). (3) Identical to (2) until post-meal; the head was then lowered to 30° (60°-30° position). Gastrointestinal motility was assessed as gastrointestinal sounds measured by sound-editing software. Digital plethysmography assessed autonomic nerve function as heart rate variability. The pressure ulcer risk was estimated as subjective comfort/discomfort using a visual analog scale. Gastrointestinal sounds increased post-meal. The 60°-30° position showed the highest number of sounds and longest cumulative sound duration. Post-meal, sympathetic activation was suggested in the 60° position, whereas vagal activity was relatively preserved in the 60°-30° position. The 60°-30° position was the most comfortable, and the 60° position was least comfortable. Lowering the head after a meal is beneficial to augment gastrointestinal motility and decrease the pressure ulcer risk. The 60° head-up position increases the pressure ulcer risk
Changes of Myelin Organization in Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease Shown by q-Space Myelin Map Imaging
Background: Recent studies detected the aberrant myelination of the central nervous system (CNS) in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Here, we compared the change of myelination between patients with AD and controls by a novel magnetic resonance imaging modality, “q-space myelin map (MM) imaging.” Methods: Twenty patients with AD and 18 healthy subjects underwent MM imaging. We compared the MM metric between the 2 groups and examined the relationships between the metric and the clinical symptoms of AD. Results: AD patients showed a significant reduction of MM metric in the hippocampus, insula, precuneus, and anterior cingulate regions. There was also a significant negative correlation between the duration of illness and the MM metric in the temporoparietal region. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that MM imaging could be a clinically proper modality to estimate the myelination changes in AD patients
Fabrication of a 64-Pixel TES Microcalorimeter Array with Iron Absorbers Uniquely Designed for 14.4-keV Solar Axion Search
If a hypothetical elementary particle called an axion exists, to solve the
strong CP problem, a 57Fe nucleus in the solar core could emit a 14.4-keV
monochromatic axion through the M1 transition. If such axions are once more
transformed into photons by a 57Fe absorber, a transition edge sensor (TES)
X-ray microcalorimeter should be able to detect them efficiently. We have
designed and fabricated a dedicated 64-pixel TES array with iron absorbers for
the solar axion search. In order to decrease the effect of iron magnetization
on spectroscopic performance, the iron absorber is placed next to the TES while
maintaining a certain distance. A gold thermal transfer strap connects them. We
have accomplished the electroplating of gold straps with high thermal
conductivity. The residual resistivity ratio (RRR) was over 23, more than eight
times higher than a previous evaporated strap. In addition, we successfully
electroplated pure-iron films of more than a few micrometers in thickness for
absorbers and a fabricated 64-pixel TES calorimeter structure.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, published in IEEE Transactions on Applied
Superconductivity on 8 March 202
Comparison of Learning Effects Between Multi-Layered Education and Simulated Paticient Program
Abnormal neurite density and orientation dispersion in unilateral temporal lobe epilepsy detected by advanced diffusion imaging
BackgroundDespite recent advances in diffusion MRI (dMRI), there is still limited information on neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI) in temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). This study aimed to demonstrate neurite density and dispersion in TLE with and without hippocampal sclerosis (HS) using whole-brain voxel-wise analyses.Material and methodsWe recruited 33 patients with unilateral TLE (16 left, 17 right), including 14 patients with HS (TLE-HS) and 19 MRI-negative 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET)-positive patients (MRI-/PET+ TLE). The NODDI toolbox calculated the intracellular volume fraction (ICVF) and orientation dispersion index (ODI). Conventional dMRI metrics, that is, fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD), were also estimated. After spatial normalization, all dMRI parameters (ICVF, ODI, FA, and MD) of the patients were compared with those of age- and sex-matched healthy controls using Statistical Parametric Mapping 12 (SPM12). As a complementary analysis, we added an atlas-based region of interest (ROI) analysis of relevant white matter tracts using tract-based spatial statistics.ResultsWe found decreased neurite density mainly in the ipsilateral temporal areas of both right and left TLE, with the right TLE showing more severe and widespread abnormalities. In addition, etiology-specific analyses revealed a localized reduction in ICVF (i.e., neurite density) in the ipsilateral temporal pole in MRI-/PET+ TLE, whereas TLE-HS presented greater abnormalities, including FA and MD, in addition to a localized hippocampal reduction in ODI. The results of the atlas-based ROI analysis were consistent with the results of the SPM12 analysis.ConclusionNODDI may provide clinically relevant information as well as novel insights into the field of TLE. Particularly, in MRI-/PET+ TLE, neurite density imaging may have higher sensitivity than other dMRI parameters. The results may also contribute to better understanding of the pathophysiology of TLE with HS
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