INFLUENCE OF THE RACKET ON THE SMASH MOTION IN BADMINTON

The purpose of this study was to analyze the influence of the racket on badminton smash motion. An experiment was carried out using three badminton rackets of different mass and gravity center position. The smashes of 12 males were selected for the analysis. Performances were recorded by twelve motion capture cameras. In this study, we analyzed a position in the vertical direction of each marker and considered a series of the flow of the smash motion. Then, we calculated the standard deviation to analyze a difference of the smash motion. As a result, a difference in dispersion of the smash motion was observed depending on using the rackets. In addition, some inexperience persons could be close to motions of experience by changing the rackets. Therefore, the result showed that it was very important to select a racket suitable for them

Possibility of Concentration of Non-volatile Species near the Surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

The cometary materials are thought to be the reservoir of primitive materials in the Solar System. The recent detection of glycine and CH$_3$NH$_2$ by the ROSINA mass spectrometer in the coma of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko suggests that amino acids and their precursors may have been formed in an early evolutionary phase of the Solar System. We investigate the evolution of cometary interior considering the evaporation process of water followed by the concentration of non-volatile species. We develop a Simplified Cometary Concentration Model (SCCM) to simulate the evaporation and concentration processes on the cometary surface.We use 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko as the benchmark of SCCM. We investigate the depth of the layer where non-volatile species concentrate after the numerous passages of perihelion after the formation of the Solar System. As a result, the SCCM explains the observed production rates of water and CH$_3$NH$_2$ at 100 comet years. SCCM results suggest that the non-volatile species would concentrate at depths between 0 and 100cm of comet surface within 10 comet years. Our results also suggest that the non-volatile species would concentrate several meters beneath the surface before it hit the early Earth. This specific mass of non-volatile species may provide unique chemical condition to the volcanic hot spring pools.Comment: accepted to A&

Association of HCV Core Antigen Seropositivity with Long-Term Mortality in Patients on Regular Hemodialysis

Anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibody seropositivity is independently associated with poor prognosis in hemodialysis (HD) patients. However, anti-HCV antibody cannot distinguish between patients with active infection and those who have recovered from infection. We therefore aimed in this study to examine the association of HCV core antigen (HCVcAg) seropositivity with mortality in HD patients. We first measured serum HCVcAg using an immunoradiometric assay and anti-HCV antibody in 405 patients on regular HD, and followed them for 104 months. There were 82 patients (20.2%) who had been positive for anti-HCV antibodies; 57 (69.5%) of these were positive for HCVcAg. During the follow-up, 29 patients were excluded, so we tested the association of HCVcAg seropositivity with all-cause, cardiovascular (CV) and non-CV mortalities in 376 patients. A total of 209 patients (55.6%) had expired during the observational period, 92 out of them due to CV causes. After adjusting for comorbid parameters, HCVcAg was independently associated with overall mortality (HR 1.61, 95% CI 1.05–2.47, p < 0.05). HCV infection was significantly related to liver disease-related mortality. Past HCV infection also contributed to CV mortality (HR 2.63, 95% CI 1.27–5.45, p < 0.01). In contrast, anti-HCV antibody and HCVcAg seropositivities did not associate with infectious disease-related and cancer-related (expect for hepatocellular carcinoma) mortality. It follows from these findings that HCVcAg serology is associated with all-cause and CV mortality in HD patients

Design, Synthesis, and Biological Applications of Boron-Containing Polyamine and Sugar Derivatives

Boron (B), an element that is present in ultratrace amounts in animal cells and tissues, is expected to be useful in many scientific fields. We have found the hydrolysis of C–B bond in phenylboronic acid-pendant cyclen (cyclen = 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane) and the full decomposition of ortho-carborane attached with cyclen and ethylenediamines in aqueous solution at neutral pH upon complexation with intracellular metals. The change in the chemical shift of the 11B signals in 11B-NMR spectra of these boron-containing metal chelators can be applied to the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of metal ions in solutions and in living cells