460 research outputs found

    The Continuity of Violence in the Stages of the Shi-Shi Movement of Nineteenth-Century Japan

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    Some scholars place violence as prominent in an early stage of a social movement, whereas others argue that violence is characteristic of a later stage. This paper addresses the question of whether there is a specific movement stage that is particular characterized by violence through an analysis of the shi-shi movement (1858-1864). The shi-shi movement helped create the revolutionary situation which culminated in Japan's Meiji Restoration (1868). Violence was prominent and consequential in the shi-shi movement and was found throughout the career of the movement. This study of a single case is by no means suffcient to claim primary over existing models of the place of violence in social movements. The shi-shi movement, however, significantly varies from theoretical models that link violent actions to a specific movement stage

    Dependence of a self-assembled amphiphile structure on the interaction between hydrophilic groups

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    In a previous study (2005 Comput. Phys. Commun. 169, 139?143), we clarified the dependence of the phase structure on the hydrophilicity of an amphiphilic molecule by varying the interaction potential between the hydrophilic molecule and water (a_AW) in a dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) simulation using the Jury model. In the present paper, we perform another DPD simulation using the previous model to investigate the dependence of the interaction potential between adjacent hydrophilic groups on the phase structure. By varying the coefficient of the interaction potential between adjacent hydrophilic groups a_AA (a_AA = 15, 25, 40 and 250) at a dimensionless temperature of T = 0.5 and a concentration of amphiphilic molecules in water of φ = 50%, hexagonal (a_AA = 14, 25, 40) and micellar (a_AA = 250) phases were observed. In comparison with the previous results, the dependence of the A?B dimer’s shape on a_AA was determined to be weaker than that on a_AW. Therefore, it is concluded that the solvent waterWplays an important role in aggregation of the A?B dimers

    Current clinical understanding and effectiveness of portopulmonary hypertension treatment

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    Portopulmonary hypertension (PoPH) is a rare subtype of Group 1 pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) with a poor prognosis. According to the most up-to-date definition, PoPH is characterized by a mean pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP) of >20 mmHg at rest, a pulmonary artery wedge pressure of ≤15 mmHg, and a pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) of >2 Wood units with portal hypertension. Like PAH, PoPH is underpinned by an imbalance in vasoactive substances. Therefore, current guidelines recommend PAH-specific therapies for PoPH treatment; however, descriptions of the actual treatment approaches are inconsistent. Given the small patient population, PoPH is often studied in combination with idiopathic PAH; however, recent evidence suggests important differences between PoPH and idiopathic PAH in terms of hemodynamic parameters, treatment approaches, survival, socioeconomic status, and healthcare utilization. Therefore, large, multi-center registry studies are needed to examine PoPH in isolation while obtaining statistically meaningful results. PoPH has conventionally been excluded from clinical drug trials because of concerns over hepatotoxicity. Nevertheless, newer-generation endothelin receptor antagonists have shown great promise in the treatment of PoPH, reducing PVR, PAP, and World Health Organization functional class without causing hepatotoxicity. The role of liver transplantation as a treatment option for PoPH has also been controversial; however, recent evidence shows that this procedure may be beneficial in this patient population. In the future, given the shortage of liver donors, predictors of a favorable response to liver transplantation should be determined to select the most eligible patients. Collectively, advances in these three areas could help to standardize PoPH treatment in the clinic

    Phase Diagram for Self-assembly of Amphiphilic Molecule C12E6 by Dissipative Particle Dynamics Simulation

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    In a previous study, dissipative particle dynamics simulation was used to qualitatively clarify the phase diagram of the amphiphilic molecule hexaethylene glycol dodecyl ether (C12E6). In the present study, the hydrophilicity dependence of the phase structure was clarified qualitatively by varying the interaction potential between hydrophilic molecules and water molecules in a dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) simulation using the Jury model. By varying the coefficient of the interaction potential xx between hydrophilic beads and water molecules as x=-20, 0, 10, and 20, at a dimensionless temperature of T=0.5 and a concentration of amphiphilic molecules in water of phi=50% the phase structures grew to lamellar (x=-20), hexagonal (x=0), and micellar (x=10) phases. For x=20, phase separation occurs between hydrophilic beads and water molecules

    Effects of horizontal acceleration on the superconducting gravimeter CT #036 at Ishigakijima, Japan

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    In the gravity sensor of a superconducting gravimeter, a superconducting sphere as a test mass is levitated in a magnetic field. Such a sensor is susceptible to applied horizontal as well as vertical acceleration, because the translational degrees of freedom of the mass are not perfectly limited to the vertical direction. In the case of the superconducting gravimeter CT #036 installed at Ishigakijima, Japan, horizontal ground acceleration excited by the movements of a nearby VLBI antenna induces systematic step noise within the gravity recordings. We investigate this effect in terms of the static and dynamic properties of the gravity sensor using data from a collocated seismometer. It is shown that this effect can be effectively modeled by the coupling between the horizontal and vertical components in the gravity sensor. It is also found that the mechanical eigenfrequency for horizontal translation of the levitating sphere is approximately 3 Hz

    Pex14p phosphorylation regulates peroxisome import

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    Peroxisomal matrix proteins are imported into peroxisomes via membrane-bound docking/translocation machinery. One central component of this machinery is Pex14p, a peroxisomal membrane protein involved in the docking of Pex5p, the receptor for peroxisome targeting signal type 1 (PTS1). Studies in several yeast species have shown that Pex14p is phosphorylated in vivo, whereas no function has been assigned to Pex14p phosphorylation in yeast and mammalian cells. Here, we investigated peroxisomal protein import and its dynamics in mitotic mammalian cells. In mitotically arrested cells, Pex14p is phosphorylated at Ser-232, resulting in a lower import efficiency of catalase, but not the majority of proteins including canonical PTS1 proteins. Conformational change induced by the mitotic phosphorylation of Pex14p more likely increases homomeric interacting affinity and suppresses topological change of its N-terminal part, thereby giving rise to the retardation of Pex5p export in mitotic cells. Taken together, these data show that mitotic phosphorylation of Pex14p and consequent suppression of catalase import are a mechanism of protecting DNA upon nuclear envelope breakdown at mitosis
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