The Efficacy and Safety of Propiverine Hydrochloride in Patients with Overactive Bladder Symptoms Who Poorly Responded to Previous Anticholinergic Agents

Objectives. To prospectively examine the efficacy and safety of propiverine hydrochloride in patients with overactive bladder (OAB) symptoms who poorly responded to previous treatment with solifenacin, tolterodine or imidafenacin. Methods. Patients aged ≥20 with persisting OAB symptoms (≥6 in OAB symptom score (OABSS)) even after at least 4-week treatment using solifenacin, tolterodine or imidafenacin were enrolled. Propiverine 20 mg/day was administered for 12 weeks to 70 patients who desired the further improvement of OAB symptoms and 3 who had intolerable adverse events of previous drugs. The OABSS and postvoid residual urine volume (PVR) were determined before and at 4 and 12 weeks of treatment. Results. Of 73 patients enrolled (29 males and 44 females, median age 71 years), 52 completed the protocol treatment. The OABSS was significantly improved by propiverine treatment (9.0 at baseline, 6.2 at 4 weeks, 6.3 at 12 weeks (P < 0.001)). The scores of OAB symptoms (nighttime frequency, urgency and urge incontinence) except daytime frequency also improved significantly. No increase in PVR was observed. The most frequent adverse event was dry mouth (13.7%), followed by constipation (6.8%). Conclusions. Propiverine is useful to improve OAB for patients who poorly respond to solifenacin, tolterodine or imidafenacin

The first year of Antarctic VLBI observations

We are undertaking a series of geodetic VLBI observations between the Syowa Station 11-m antenna in Antarctica, and the 26-m antennas in Hobart Tasmania and Hartebeesthoek South Africa. These observations are the beginning of our campaign to monitor the motion and stability of the Antarctic plate. We describe here the results of the first year\u27s observations made during the southern summer and winter of 1998. Two mutually incompatible recording systems, K4 and S2, are used. The Mitaka FX Correlator was used to correlate these data. By using software called CALC3/MSOLV, the mean position of the antenna\u27s geodetic reference point was found to be X=1766194.152±0.006m, Y=1460410.923±0.005m and Z=- 5932273.329±0.015m at the epoch of 1998.9 in the International Terrestrial Reference Frame 2000 (ITRF2000) system. From a comparison with measurements made with other space geodetic techniques we estimate that our results have typical uncertainties of no more than 2 to 3cm in each coordinate

Large Population of ALMA Galaxies at z>6 with Very High [OIII]88um to [CII]158um Flux Ratios: Evidence of Extremely High Ionization Parameter or PDR Deficit?

We present our new ALMA observations targeting [OIII]88um, [CII]158um, [NII]122um, and dust continuum emission for three Lyman break galaxies at z=6.0293-6.2037 identified in the Subaru/Hyper Suprime-Cam survey. We clearly detect [OIII] and [CII] lines from all of the galaxies at 4.3-11.8sigma levels, and identify multi-band dust continuum emission in two of the three galaxies, allowing us to estimate infrared luminosities and dust temperatures simultaneously. In conjunction with previous ALMA observations for six galaxies at z>6, we confirm that all the nine z=6-9 galaxies have high [OIII]/[CII] ratios of L[OIII]/L[CII]~3-20, ~10 times higher than z~0 galaxies. We also find a positive correlation between the [OIII]/[CII] ratio and the Lya equivalent width (EW) at the ~90% confidence level. We carefully investigate physical origins of the high [OIII]/[CII] ratios at z=6-9 using Cloudy, and find that high density of the interstellar medium, low C/O abundance ratio, and the cosmic microwave background attenuation are responsible to only a part of the z=6-9 galaxies. Instead, the observed high [OIII]/[CII] ratios are explained by 10-100 times higher ionization parameters or low photodissociation region (PDR) covering fractions of 0-10%, both of which are consistent with our [NII] observations. The latter scenario can be reproduced with a density bounded nebula with PDR deficit, which would enhance the Lya, Lyman continuum, and C+ ionizing photons escape from galaxies, consistent with the [OIII]/[CII]-Lya EW correlation we find.Comment: 20 pages, 18 figures, Accepted for publication in Ap

Clinical Study The Efficacy and Safety of Propiverine Hydrochloride in Patients with Overactive Bladder Symptoms Who Poorly Responded to Previous Anticholinergic Agents

Objectives. To prospectively examine the efficacy and safety of propiverine hydrochloride in patients with overactive bladder (OAB) symptoms who poorly responded to previous treatment with solifenacin, tolterodine or imidafenacin. Methods. Patients aged ≥20 with persisting OAB symptoms (≥6 in OAB symptom score (OABSS)) even after at least 4-week treatment using solifenacin, tolterodine or imidafenacin were enrolled. Propiverine 20 mg/day was administered for 12 weeks to 70 patients who desired the further improvement of OAB symptoms and 3 who had intolerable adverse events of previous drugs. The OABSS and postvoid residual urine volume (PVR) were determined before and at 4 and 12 weeks of treatment. Results. Of 73 patients enrolled (29 males and 44 females, median age 71 years), 52 completed the protocol treatment. The OABSS was significantly improved by propiverine treatment (9.0 at baseline, 6.2 at 4 weeks, 6.3 at 12 weeks (P &lt; 0.001)). The scores of OAB symptoms (nighttime frequency, urgency and urge incontinence) except daytime frequency also improved significantly. No increase in PVR was observed. The most frequent adverse event was dry mouth (13.7%), followed by constipation (6.8%). Conclusions. Propiverine is useful to improve OAB for patients who poorly respond to solifenacin, tolterodine or imidafenacin

Subaru High-z Exploration of Low-Luminosity Quasars (SHELLQs). XIV. A Candidate Type-II Quasar at z=6.1292

We present deep Keck/MOSFIRE near-infrared spectroscopy of a strong Lyman alpha emitting source at z=6.1292, HSC J142331.71-001809.1, which was discovered by the SHELLQS program from imaging data of the Subaru Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) survey. This source is one of five objects that show unresolved (10^44 erg s-1) Lyman alpha emission lines at absolute 1450 angstrom continuum magnitudes of M1450~-22 mag. Its rest-frame Lyman alpha equivalent width (EW) is 370+/-30 angstrom. In the 2 hour Keck/MOSFIRE spectrum in Y band, the high-ionization CIV 1548,1550 doublet emission line was clearly detected with FWHM =120+/-20 km s-1 and a total rest-frame EW of 37-5+6 angstrom. We also report the detection of weak continuum emission, and the tentative detection of OIII] 1661,1666 in the 4 hour J band spectrum. Judging from the UV magnitude, line widths, luminosities, and EWs of Lyman alpha and CIV, we suggest that this source is a reionization-era analog of classical type-II AGNs, although there is a possibility that it represents a new population of AGN/galaxy composite objects in the early universe. We compare the properties of J1423-0018 to intermediate-redshift type-II AGNs and CIV emitters seen in z=6-7 galaxy samples. Further observations of other metal emission lines in the rest-frame UV or optical, and X-ray follow-up observations of the z=6-7 narrow-line quasars are needed for more robust diagnostics and to determine their nature.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

ALMA Observations for CO Emission from Luminous Lyman-break Galaxies at z=6.0293z=6.0293-6.20376.2037

We present our new Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations targeting CO(6-5) emission from three luminous Lyman break galaxies (LBGs) at $z_{\rm spec} = 6.0293$-$6.2037$ found in the Subaru/Hyper Suprime-Cam survey, whose [OIII]$88\mu$m and [CII]$158\mu$m emission have been detected with ALMA. We find a marginal detection of the CO(6-5) line from one of our LBGs, J0235-0532, at the $\simeq 4 \sigma$ significance level and obtain upper limits for the other two LBGs, J1211-0118 and J0217-0208. Our $z=6$ luminous LBGs are consistent with the previously found correlation between the CO luminosity and the infrared luminosity. The unique ensemble of the multiple far-infrared emission lines and underlying continuum fed to a photodissociation region model reveal that J0235-0532 has a relatively high hydrogen nucleus density that is comparable to those of low-$z$ (U)LIRGs, quasars, and Galactic star-forming regions with high $n_{\rm H}$ values, while the other two LBGs have lower $n_{\rm H}$ consistent with local star-forming galaxies. By carefully taking account of various uncertainties, we obtain total gas mass and gas surface density constraints from their CO luminosity measurements. We find that J0235-0532 locates below the Kennicutt-Schmidt (KS) relation, comparable to the previously CO(2-1) detected $z=5.7$ LBG, HZ10. Combined with previous results for dusty starbursts at similar redshifts, the KS relation at $z=5$-$6$ is on average consistent with the local one.Comment: 33 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

Anti-malarial activity of leaf-extract of hydrangea macrophylla, a common Japanese plant.

To find a new anti-malarial medicine derived from natural resources, we examined the leaves of 13 common Japanese plants in vitro. Among them, a leaf-extract of Hydrangea macrophylla, a common Japanese flower, inhibited the parasitic growth of Plasmodium falciparum. The IC50 of Hydrangea macrophylla leaf extract to Plasmodium falciparum was 0.18 microg/ml. The IC50 to NIH 3T3-3 cells, from a normal mouse cell line, was 7.2 microg/ml. Thus, selective toxicity was 40. For the in vivo test, we inoculated Plasmodium berghei, a rodent malaria parasite, to ddY mice and administered the leaf-extract of Hydrangea macrophylla (3.6 mg/0.2 ml) orally 3 times a day for 3 days. Malaria parasites did not appear in the blood of in the treated mice, but they did appear in the control group on day 3 or 4 after inoculation with the parasites. When leaf extract was administered to 5 mice 2 times a day for 3 days, malaria parasites did not appear in 4 of the mice but did appear in 1 mouse. In addition, the leaf-extract was administered orally 3 times a day for 3 days to Plasmodium berghei infected mice with a parasitemia of 2.7%. In the latter group, malaria parasites disappeared on day 3 after initiating the treatment, but they appeared again after day 5 or 6. Although we could not cure the mice entirely, we confirmed that the Hydrangea macrophylla leaf extract did contain an anti-malarial substance that can be administered orally.</p