Precise electrical transport measurements by using bridgman type pressure cell at low temperature

金沢大学理工研究域環境デザイン学系We report a technique for the precise measurement of the electrical resisivity under high pressure at low temperature by using Bridgman anvils made of tungsten carbide. Quasi-hydrostatic pressure is generated up to ∼15 GPa in the relatively large working space which allows the use of large specimens and simple experimental procedures rather than using a standard diamond anvil cell. The application is demonstrated by the measurements of the electrical resistivity of lead in order to describe the effect of pressure on the superconducting transition. © 2010 IOP Publishing Ltd

Voxel‐based clustered imaging by multiparameter diffusion tensor images for predicting the grade and proliferative activity of meningioma

[Introduction] Meningiomas are the most common primary central nervous system tumors. Predicting the grade and proliferative activity of meningiomas would influence therapeutic strategies. We aimed to apply the multiple parameters from preoperative diffusion tensor images for predicting meningioma grade and proliferative activity. [Methods] Nineteen patients with low-grade meningiomas and eight with high-grade meningiomas were included. For the prediction of proliferative activity, the patients were divided into two groups: Ki-67 monoclonal antibody labeling index (MIB-1 LI) < 5% (lower MIB-1 LI group; n = 18) and MIB-1 LI ≥ 5% (higher MIB-1 LI group; n = 9). Six features, diffusion-weighted imaging, fractional anisotropy, mean, axial, and radial diffusivities, and raw T2 signal with no diffusion weighting, were extracted as multiple parameters from diffusion tensor imaging. The two-level clustering approach for a self-organizing map followed by the K-means algorithm was applied to cluster a large number of input vectors with the six features. We also validated whether the diffusion tensor-based clustered image (DTcI) was helpful for predicting preoperative meningioma grade or proliferative activity. [Results] The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and area under the curve of receiver operating characteristic curves from the 16-class DTcIs for differentiating high- and low-grade meningiomas were 0.870, 0.901, 0.891, and 0.959, and those from the 10-class DTcIs for differentiating higher and lower MIB-1 LIs were 0.508, 0.770, 0.683, and 0.694, respectively. The log-ratio values of class numbers 13, 14, 15, and 16 were significantly higher in high-grade meningiomas than in low-grade meningiomas (p < .001). With regard to MIB-1 LIs, the log-ratio values of class numbers 8, 9, and 10 were higher in meningiomas with higher MIB-1 groups (p < .05). [Conclusion] The multiple diffusion tensor imaging-based parameters from the voxel-based DTcIs can help differentiate between low- and high-grade meningiomas and between lower and higher proliferative activities

Regional Differences in Recreation and Tourism Activities owing to the Commodification of Rural Space in and around the Tokyo Metropolitan Area

　この報告では，首都圏とその周辺を含む15の都県の観光と農政の担当者から，それぞれの都県における農村空間の商品化による観光活動の種類と分布状況，そして地域差について聞き取り，さらに統計や既存の研究，そして観光パンフレット等の分析を加えて，現代社会で活発に行われているか，あるいはその潜在的可能性が高い，重要とみなされる観光活動を抽出した。それらは，散策と市民農園，農産物直売所・農家レストラン，観光農園，ハイキング，農林業・農山村生活体験，避暑，スキー，登山，そしてマリンレジャーの10種類であった。これらの分布に基づいて地域区分を行った結果，基本的には東京都心部を中心とした同心円状のパターンがみられた。それは，農村空間の商品化による観光活動は，主として大都市からの近接性や交通利便性によって，さらには自然環境や農林水産業の内容，既存の観光地の存在によって規定されるからである。Rural space in Japan is currently characterized by the increased role of consumption rather than the traditional activity of production, such as growing rice or other crops. This situation is often described as the “commodification of rural space”. Although the commodification of rural space can occur in various forms, recreation and tourism are the most visually appealing to people. The objective of this study is to examine how regional differences in central Japan affect the commodification of rural space for recreation and tourism activities. The study area ranged from the Tokyo metropolitan area (which contains the prefecture of Tokyo and three immediate prefectures) to 11 additional prefectures located in the central part of Japan. We visited the one main governmental office in each of the 15 prefectures to interview the officials in charge of tourism and agriculture, and asked them to identify important types of recreation and tourism activities owing to the commodification of rural space in their prefectures. We also asked them to show us typical rural recreation or tourism activities, in an effort to better characterize and divide the prefectural areas based on their experiential and subjective images of rural recreation and tourism. In addition to the experiential decisions of the officials, we examined the regional differences in recreation and tourism activities owing to the commodification of rural space based on our landscape observations and the analysis of statistics, previous studies, and tourist brochures. As a result, we chose 10 common types of rural recreation and tourism activities and examined their distribution and regional differences. Walking spaces were found in every prefecture but it was the most important and basic recreation activity in urban areas. While this provision of walking is typical of urban areas, allotment gardens were found to be dominant in suburban areas, and farm produce shops and farmers’ restaurants were typical in main plains where farming is thriving. In the same respect, “you-pick” farms were commonly found in fruit-growing basins, as was hiking in hills and low mountains, the availability of rural experiences in remote basins between mountains, and escaping the summer heat in highland resort areas. Mountainous areas offered downhill skiing in snowy areas and climbing in the higher mountains, while marine leisure activities were common in coastal and islands areas. These patterns formed concentric rings around the Tokyo metropolis. The differences in natural conditions, characteristics of farming, existence of current tourist sites, and proximity to metropolitan areas affect the commodification of rural space for recreation and tourism activities in central Japan

On the embedding constant of the Sobolev type inequality for fractional derivatives

This paper is concerned with the embedding constant of the Sobolev type inequality for fractional derivatives on $\Omega\subset\mathbb{R}^{N}~(N\in\mathbb{N})$. The constant is explicitly described using the analytic semigroup over L2(Ω) generated by the Laplace operator. Some numerical examples of estimating the embedding constant are also provided

Mental health problems and influencing factors in Japanese women 4 months after delivery

BACKGROUND: Postpartum mental health problems are a major public health issue; however, studies on the mental health status of mothers and its influencing factors between 8 weeks and 1 year postpartum are scarce. Furthermore, it would be necessary to examine the factors influencing mothers\u27 mental health in order to evaluate their physiological adaptations to the nursing environment.METHODS: We examined the mental health status of postpartum women and the factors influencing poor mental health at 4 months after delivery. A cross-sectional study of 584 postpartum women was conducted. Information on mental health status, delivery, and other factors was collected using a self-administered questionnaire. Women were asked about their age, height, weight, gestational or marital status, whether they were eating regular meals, appetite, frequency of going out, financial difficulty, stressful life events, and history of depression. The Japanese version of the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) was used to identify potential poor mental health status. Participants with GHQ-12 scores of ?4 were classified as the high GHQ-12 score group (poor mental health status) and participants with GHQ-12 scores of ?3 were classified as the low GHQ-12 score group (good mental health status).RESULTS: Forty-five women (7.7%) were classified as having high GHQ-12 scores. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that older age, not eating meals regularly, and history of depression were significantly associated with poor mental health. Financial difficulty had a borderline association with poor mental health in this model.CONCLUSIONS: These risk factors might help practitioners identify women at high risk of poor mental health after delivery

A Method of Verified Computations for Solutions to Semilinear Parabolic Equations Using Semigroup Theory

This paper presents a numerical method for verifying the existence and local uniqueness of a solution for an initial-boundary value problem of semilinear parabolic equations. The main theorem of this paper provides a sufficient condition for a unique solution to be enclosed within a neighborhood of a numerical solution. In the formulation used in this paper, the initial-boundary value problem is transformed into a fixed-point form using an analytic semigroup. The sufficient condition is derived from Banach\u27s fixed-point theorem. This paper also introduces a recursive scheme to extend a time interval in which the validity of the solution can be verified. As an application of this method, the existence of a global-in-time solution is demonstrated for a certain semilinear parabolic equation

山形県朝日町におけるエコミュージアム活動による地域振興

現代日本の農村空間は，生産空間という性格が相対的に低下し，消費空間という性格が強くなっている。これを農村空間の商品化として捉えることができる。農村空間の商品化には，（1）既存の農産物の供給，（2）新しい農産物の売買，（3）都市住民の農村居住，（4）レクリエーションや観光，（5）景観・環境保全や社会・文化の理解による生活の質の向上，といった5つの形態があるが，この報告は第5番目の形態とみなすことができるエコミュージアム活動によって，いかに地域振興が行われているかを検討する。研究対象地域として，日本のエコミュージアム活動を主導してきた山形県朝日町をとりあげ，特に地域住民の日常的な活動に着目した。地域住民は必ずしもエコミュージアムを強く意識しているわけではないが，自らの自然環境や文化遺産などの地域資源を活用して，生活の質を高め，地域社会を維持発展させるという活動を定着させている。The present rural space in Japan is characterized by the increased role of consumption rather than the traditional activity of production. This situation is defined as "commodification of rural spaces." Referring to Perkins (2006) and others, rural commodities in Japan are largely classified into five types: (1) Well-established agricultural and horticultural products, (2) new agricultural and horticultural products, (3) the consumption of rural spaces by counter-urbanization, (4) rural consumption for recreation and tourism, and (5) activities to improve the quality of life through conserving and managing landscapes and natural environments and through understanding of traditional rural culture and society. The fifth type of rural commodification includes the activities of ecomuseum in which a community itself constitutes a museum managed by local municipality and residents. This paper depicts regional development owing to ecomuseum. The study area, Asahi Town located in the central part of Yamagata Prefecture has been famous for its ecomuseum activity in Japan. Local peoples\u27 daily community activities are carefully examined. Although local residents are not always aware of their ecomuseum, they have improved the quality of life and sustain and develop local community by discovering, maintaining and utilizing local resources including natural environments and cultural heritages. These ordinary activities appear to typify ecomuseum, which then lead to the regional development in Asahi Town

Canagliflozin and Cardiovascular and Renal Outcomes in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Chronic Kidney Disease in Primary and Secondary Cardiovascular Prevention Groups

Background: Canagliflozin reduces the risk of kidney failure in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and chronic kidney disease, but effects on specific cardiovascular outcomes are uncertain, as are effects in people without previous cardiovascular disease (primary prevention). Methods: In CREDENCE (Canagliflozin and Renal Events in Diabetes With Established Nephropathy Clinical Evaluation), 4401 participants with type 2 diabetes mellitus and chronic kidney disease were randomly assigned to canagliflozin or placebo on a background of optimized standard of care. Results: Primary prevention participants (n=2181, 49.6%) were younger (61 versus 65 years), were more often female (37% versus 31%), and had shorter duration of diabetes mellitus (15 years versus 16 years) compared with secondary prevention participants (n=2220, 50.4%). Canagliflozin reduced the risk of major cardiovascular events overall (hazard ratio [HR], 0.80 [95% CI, 0.67-0.95]; P=0.01), with consistent reductions in both the primary (HR, 0.68 [95% CI, 0.49-0.94]) and secondary (HR, 0.85 [95% CI, 0.69-1.06]) prevention groups (P for interaction=0.25). Effects were also similar for the components of the composite including cardiovascular death (HR, 0.78 [95% CI, 0.61-1.00]), nonfatal myocardial infarction (HR, 0.81 [95% CI, 0.59-1.10]), and nonfatal stroke (HR, 0.80 [95% CI, 0.56-1.15]). The risk of the primary composite renal outcome and the composite of cardiovascular death or hospitalization for heart failure were also consistently reduced in both the primary and secondary prevention groups (P for interaction &gt;0.5 for each outcome). Conclusions: Canagliflozin significantly reduced major cardiovascular events and kidney failure in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and chronic kidney disease, including in participants who did not have previous cardiovascular disease