Discovery of a molecular cloud possibly associated with the youngest Galactic SNR G1.9+0.3

The youngest known Galactic supernova remnant (SNR) G1.9+0.3 has high-velocity supernova shock beyond 10000 km s-1, and it is considered to be one of the major candidates of a PeVatron. Despite these outstanding properties, the surrounding interstellar matter of this object is poorly understood. We investigated the interstellar gas toward G1.9+0.3 using the 12CO(J=3-2) data with the angular resolution of 15" obtained by the CHIMPS2 survey by the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope, and discovered three individual clouds at -1, 7, and 45 km s-1. From its morphological and velocity structures, the -1 km s-1 cloud, having the largest velocity width >20 km s-1 and located at the distance of the Galactic Center, is possibly associated with the SNR. The associated cloud shows a cavity structure both in space and velocity and coincides well with the SNR. We found that the associated cloud has higher column densities toward three bright, radio synchrotron-emitted rims where the radial expansion velocity of the supernova shock is decelerated, and the cloud is faint in the other parts of the SNR. This is the first direct evidence indicating that the highly anisotropic expansion of G1.9+0.3 observed by previous studies results from the deceleration by the interaction between the supernova shock and surrounding dense interstellar medium.Comment: 17 pages, 10 figures, accepted by PAS

Cholangiolocellular carcinoma containing hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocellular carcinoma, extremely rare tumor of the liver : a case report

Cholangiolocellular carcinoma (CLC) is an extremely rare malignant liver tumor which was first defined by Steiner, et al . in 1957 (1). CLC is thought to be derived from Hering’s canal because tumor glands of CLC are morphologically similar to cholangioles. Recently, Theise, et al . reported that Hering’s canal might be composed of hepatic stem cells (3). In addition, CLC sometimes contains a hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) or cholangiocellular carcinoma (CCC) component within the tumor. Those findings suggest that CLC might originate from hepatic stem cells. On the other hand, because of its low frequency, clinicopatholigical features of CLC have not been fully clarified yet. We herein report a case of a 71-year old man with CLC. Based on preoperative imagings, the hepatic tumor was diagnosed as HCC, and he underwent a partial hepatectomy. The tumor contained both a HCC and CCC-like area. In immunohistochemistry, cytokeratin (CK) 7, CK20, CAM5.2 was positive, and CK19 was negative, therefore the tumor was diagnosed as CLC. The diagnostic criteria have not been described clearly, so CLC is difficult to diagnose preoperatively. Further studies are needed to clarify the clinical and clinicopatholigical features of CLC

Effect of Laser Peening with a Microchip Laser on Fatigue Life in Butt-Welded High-Strength Steel

Laser peening introduces compressive residual stresses on the surfaces of various materials and is effective in enhancing fatigue strength. Using a small microchip laser, with energies of 5, 10, and 15 mJ, the authors applied laser peening to the base material of an HT780 high-strength steel, and confirmed compressive residual stresses in the near-surface layer. Laser peening with a pulse energy of 15 mJ was then applied to fatigue samples of an HT780 butt-welded joint. It was confirmed that laser peening with the microchip laser prolonged the fatigue life of the welded joint samples to the same level as in previous studies with a conventional laser

Effect of laser peening without coating (LPwC) on retardation of fatigue crack growth in SM490 plates

Laser peening without coating (LPwC) is a well-known technique to improve high-cycle fatigue properties by introducing compressive residual stress (RS) near the surface of metal components. In this study, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and flexural fatigue tests were applied to pre-cracked 12 mm thick SM490A welding structural steel specimens that were subjected to LPwC nearly 20 years ago with a pulse energy of 200 mJ, a spot diameter of 0.8 mm and a pulse density of 36 pulse/mm2. XRD revealed that the compressive RS has remained stable to date, with approximately 400–500 MPa remaining at the surface and a compressive depth of approximately 0.9 mm from the surface, which is comparable to the data measured by XRD immediately after LPwC. In the flexural fatigue tests with a stress ratio of 0.1 and stress rages of 100, 150 and 200 MPa, LPwC extended the fatigue life by more than 1.6 times, depending on the stress range and individual specimens. Crack restarting cycles were significantly increased by a factor of at least 1.8, and the crack growth rate was suppressed by a factor of about 0.7 or less

Effect of Laser Peening with a Microchip Laser on Fatigue Life in Butt-Welded High-Strength Steel

Laser peening introduces compressive residual stresses on the surfaces of various materials and is effective in enhancing fatigue strength. Using a small microchip laser, with energies of 5, 10, and 15 mJ, the authors applied laser peening to the base material of an HT780 high-strength steel, and confirmed compressive residual stresses in the near-surface layer. Laser peening with a pulse energy of 15 mJ was then applied to fatigue samples of an HT780 butt-welded joint. It was confirmed that laser peening with the microchip laser prolonged the fatigue life of the welded joint samples to the same level as in previous studies with a conventional laser

Recombination, cryptic clades and neutral molecular divergence of the microcystin synthetase (<it>mcy</it>) genes of toxic cyanobacterium <it>Microcystis aeruginosa</it>

Abstract Background The water-bloom-forming cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa is a known producer of various kinds of toxic and bioactive chemicals. Of these, hepatotoxic cyclic heptapeptides microcystins have been studied most intensively due to increasing concerns for human health risks and environmental damage. More than 70 variants of microcystins are known, and a single microcystin synthetase (mcy) gene cluster consisting of 10 genes (mcyA to mcyJ) has been identified to be responsible for the production of all known variants of microcystins. Our previous multilocus sequence typing (MLST) analysis of the seven housekeeping genes indicated that microcystin-producing strains of M. aeruginosa are classified into two phylogenetic groups. Results To investigate whether the mcy genes are genetically structured similarly as in MLST analysis of the housekeeping genes and to identify the evolutionary forces responsible for the genetic divergence of these genes, we used 118 mcy-positive isolates to perform phylogenetic and population genetic analyses of mcy genes based on three mcy loci within the mcy gene cluster (mcyD, mcyG, and mcyJ), none of which is involved in the production of different microcystin variants. Both individual phylogenetic analysis and multilocus genealogical analysis of the mcy genes divided our isolates into two clades, consistent with the MLST phylogeny based on seven housekeeping loci. No shared characteristics within each clade are known, and microcystin analyses did not identify any compositional trend specific to each clade. Statistical analyses for recombination indicated that recombination among the mcy genes is much more frequent within clades than between, suggesting that recombination has been an important force maintaining the cryptic divergence of mcy genes. On the other hand, a series of statistical tests provided no strong evidence for selection to explain the deep divergence of the mcy genes. Furthermore, analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) indicated a low level of geographic structuring in the genetic diversity of mcy. Conclusion Our phylogenetic analyses suggest that the mcy genes of M. aeruginosa are subdivided into two cryptic clades, consistent with the phylogeny determined by MLST. Population genetic analyses suggest that these two clades have primarily been maintained as a result of homology-dependent recombination and neutral genetic drift.</p