Hydrodynamic Forces on a Circular Cylinder Placed in Wave-Current Co-existing Fields

The in-line hydrodynamic force acting on a circular cylinder in a wave-current co-existing field and its generating mechanism are discussed. This study focuses on the asymmetries of both the water particle movement and the resultant vortex property with respect to the cylinder as being the causes of an inherent generating mechanism of the hydrodynamic force in the wave-current co-existing field. First of all, the vortex property around a circular cylinder in the wave-adverse current co-existing field is examined by flow visualization tests. It is found that the vortex property depends on the flow characteristics around the trough phase when the wave-current composite velocity becomes maximum and can be represented with a newly proposed K.C. number for the co-existing field. Next, the characteristics of the in-line force are made clear by evaluating the drag coefficient and the mass coefficient in the expanded Morison's equation for the co-existing field. These coefficients can be well arranged by (K.C.)₂, which is one of the newly proposed K.C. numbers, and their characteristics coincide with the existing results in the wave-only field. The in-line hydrodynamic force in the co-existing field can be explained sufficiently by considering the vortex property in the same manner as clarified in the wave-only field

Prevalence of Exogenous Hormone Use in Japanese Women

Background: There have been few community-based epidemiological studies in which the prevalence of exogenous hormone use, including the use of oral contraceptives (OCs) and hormone replacement therapy (HRT), has been accurately assessed in Japan. Methods: We have been conducting repeated surveys of participants in the Japan Nurses’ Health Study (JNHS), as a nationwide prospective cohort study, since 2001. We determined the prevalence of exogenous hormone use at baseline and during a 10-year follow-up period. A total of 15,019 female nurses participated in the JNHS follow-up cohort. We determined the prevalence of OC use in 14,839 women <60 years of age at baseline and the prevalence of HRT use in 7,915 women, excluding premenopausal women, at the last time they answered a questionnaire. The duration of HRT use was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Results: Six percent of the participants used OCs. The proportion of HRT users who stopped HRT before the baseline survey, the proportion of women using HRT during the follow-up period, and the proportion of all of the participants who had used HRT were 3.2%, 10.6%, and 13.8%, respectively. The median duration of HRT use was 2 years. Conclusions: The lifetime prevalences of exogenous hormone use during this prospective study conducted in Japanese nurses were 6.0% for OCs and 13.8% for HRT. The information obtained in this study will be useful for clarification of the association between exogenous estrogen exposure and estrogen-related diseases as future research

Association between FSH, E1, and E2 levels in urine and serum in premenopausal and postmenopausal women

Objective: We aimed to establish correlations for the levels of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), estrone (E1) and estradiol (E2) between urine and serum in premenopausal and postmenopausal women using immunoassays. Methods: In this study of 92 women (61 postmenopausal, 31 premenopausal), both urine and blood specimens were collected on the same day and stored at 4 °C for analysis by chemiluminescent immunoassay, radioimmunoassay and/or electrochemiluminescent immunoassay. Results: There were correlations in the levels of FSH, E1 and E2 between urine and serum in both postmenopausal (r = 0.96 for FSH, r = 0.91 for E1, r = 0.80 for E2) and premenopausal (r = 0.98 for FSH, r = 0.92 for E1, r = 0.90 for E2) women. It is indicated that the correlations were stronger in the premenopausal group compared with the postmenopausal group, especially for FSH. Conclusion: The levels of FSH, E1 and E2 in urine correlated with those in the serum in premenopausal and postmenopausal women. Urine samples could be used instead of serum samples to measure hormone levels, which would reduce the difficulty of conducting large survey studies

Disease history and risk of comorbidity in women's life course : a comprehensive analysis of the Japan Nurses’ Health Study baseline survey

Objective: To classify diseases based on age at peak incidence to identify risk factors for later disease in women’s life course. Design: A cross-sectional baseline survey of participants in the Japan Nurses’ Health Study. Setting: A nationwide prospective cohort study on the health of Japanese nurses. The baseline survey was conducted between 2001 and 2007 (n=49 927). Main outcome measures: Age at peak incidence for 20 diseases from a survey of Japanese women was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method with the Kernel smoothing technique. The incidence rate and peak incidence for diseases whose peak incidence occurred before the age of 45 years or before the perimenopausal period were selected as early-onset diseases. The OR and 95% CI were estimated to examine the risk of comorbidity between early-onset and other diseases. Results: Four early-onset diseases (endometriosis, anaemia, migraine headache and uterine myoma) were significantly correlated with one another. Late-onset diseases significantly associated (OR>2) with early-onset diseases included comorbid endometriosis with ovarian cancer (3.65 (2.16 to 6.19)), endometrial cancer (2.40 (1.14 to 5.04)) and cerebral infarction (2.10 (1.15 to 3.85)); comorbid anaemia with gastric cancer (3.69 (2.68 to 5.08)); comorbid migraine with transient ischaemic attack (3.06 (2.29 to 4.09)), osteoporosis (2.11 (1.71 to 2.62)), cerebral infarction (2.04 (1.26 to 3.30)) and angina pectoris (2.00 (1.49 to 2.67)); and comorbid uterine myoma with colorectal cancer (2.31 (1.48 to 3.61)). Conclusions: While there were significant associations between four early-onset diseases, women with a history of one or more of the early-onset diseases had a higher risk of other diseases later in their life course. Understanding the history of early-onset diseases in women may help reduce the subsequent risk of chronic diseases in later life

Chemogenetic sensory fMRI reveals behaviorally relevant bidirectional changes in primate somatosensory network

手と足の感覚は、実は脳の中でつながっていた --脳障害による活動変化の広がりを見ることで常識を覆す発見、脳機能・疾患機序の理解へ前進--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2021-10-21.Concurrent genetic neuromodulation and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in primates has provided a valuable opportunity to assess the modified brain-wide operation in the resting state. However, its application to link the network operation with behavior still remains challenging. Here, we combined chemogenetic silencing of the primary somatosensory cortex (SI) with tactile fMRI and related behaviors in macaques. Focal chemogenetic silencing of functionally identified SI hand region impaired grasping behavior. The same silencing also attenuated hand stimulation-evoked fMRI signal at both the local silencing site and the anatomically and/or functionally connected downstream grasping network, suggesting altered network operation underlying the induced behavioral impairment. Furthermore, the hand region silencing unexpectedly disinhibited foot representation with accompanying behavioral hypersensitization. These results demonstrate that focal chemogenetic silencing with sensory fMRI in macaques unveils bidirectional network changes to generate multifaceted behavioral impairments, thereby opening a pivotal window toward elucidating the causal network operation underpinning higher brain functions in primates

Photoelectrode characteristics of partially hydrolyzed aluminum phthalocyanine chloride/fullerene C 60 composite nanoparticles working in a water phase

金沢大学先端科学・社会共創推進機構Photoelectrochemical measurements were used to study the photoelectrode characteristics of composite nanoparticles composed of fullerene C 60 and partially hydrolyzed aluminum phthalocyanine chloride (AlPc). In cyclic voltammetry measurements, the electrodes coated with the composite nanoparticles were found to have photoanodic [electron donor: 2-mercaptoethanol (ME)] and photocathodic (electron acceptor: O 2) characteristics similar to those of the vapor-deposited p/n junction electrode. Their photoanodic features were further investigated with respect to the transient photocurrent response to light irradiation and the dependence on ME concentration (under potentiostatic conditions), from which it was noted that there was a decrease in the initial spiky photocathodic current and saturation of the steady-state photoanodic current at a higher ME concentration. Thus, the reaction kinetics was probably dominated by charge transport process. Moreover, external and internal quantum efficiency spectrum measurements indicated that the composite nanoparticles responded to the full spectrum of visible light (<880 nm) for both the photoanodic and photocathodic current. The present research will assist comprehension of photocatalytic behavior of the composite nanoparticles. © 2012 by the authors

Chemogenetic dissection of the primate prefronto-subcortical pathways for working memory and decision-making

「何を買うんだっけ」と「どれにしよう」を処理する2つの脳回路を明らかに --霊長類の生体脳で神経経路を可視化・操作する技術で解明、高次脳機能の理解へ大きく前進--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2021-06-24.The primate prefrontal cortex (PFC) is situated at the core of higher brain functions via neural circuits such as those linking the caudate nucleus and mediodorsal thalamus. However, the distinctive roles of these prefronto-subcortical pathways remain elusive. Combining in vivo neuronal projection mapping with chemogenetic synaptic silencing, we reversibly dissected key pathways from dorsolateral part of the PFC (dlPFC) to the dorsal caudate (dCD) and lateral mediodorsal thalamus (MDl) individually in single monkeys. We found that silencing the bilateral dlPFC-MDl projections, but not the dlPFC-dCD projections, impaired performance in a spatial working memory task. Conversely, silencing the unilateral dlPFC-dCD projection, but not the unilateral dlPFC-MDl projection, altered preference in a decision-making task. These results revealed dissociable roles of the prefronto-subcortical pathways in working memory and decision-making, representing the technical advantage of imaging-guided pathway-selective chemogenetic manipulation for dissecting neural circuits underlying cognitive functions in primates

Enhanced oxidation power in photoelectrocatalysis based on a micrometer-localized positive potential in a terrace hetero p–n junction

金沢大学先端科学・社会共創推進機構Generally, p–n junction-based solar energy conversion has the disadvantage of a loss in potential gain in comparison with the photon energy. In this study, we found a more positive potential for a lateral domain interface of p–n junction than for a conventional p–n junction. A terrace bilayer (TB) p–n junction of phthalocyanine (H2Pc) and 3,4,9,10-perylenetetracarboxylic-bis-benzimidazole (PTCBI) was studied using scanning Kelvin probe microscopy (SKPM), and its electronic properties were analyzed using the contact potential difference (VCPD) data. The analysis of VCPD in the single layer region and the bilayer region (BLR) indicated a vacuum level shift through the electron transfer from PTCBI into indium tin oxide (ITO), from H2Pc into ITO and from H2Pc into PTCBI. Furthermore, the comparison of these VCPD data indicated a micrometer-localized positive potential in the boundary region (BDR) of the terrace bilayer structure of p-type on n-type. The gain difference of the VCPD reached +0.1 V in comparison with the BLR. The phenomena can be explained as a lateral dipole at the p–n junction. Similar phenomena were observed in TB-H2Pc/C60/ITO and TB-H2Pc/PTCBI/Au. The gain was extracted as oxidation power in photoelectrochemistry; i.e., at −0.2 V vs. Ag/AgCl a greater anodic current was observed for a patterned terrace bilayer electrode. Additionally, as a photocatalyst film (i.e., a H2Pc (dot)/PTCBI/PTFE membrane filter), the p–n dot terrace structure showed a higher quantum efficiency (5.1%) than that of the bilayer (3.2%) for the decomposition of acetic acid. The present design and method were utilized to obtain an efficient photocatalyst, especially through the mitigation of potential loss from the photon energy to redox powers without changing the molecular component. © 2018, The Author(s)