Fulde-Ferrel-Larkin-Ovchinnikov State due to Antisymmetric Spin-Orbit-Coupling in Noncentrosymmetric Superconductivity CePt3_3Si

When the inversion symmetry is broken, the spin-orbit coupling reduces the transition temperature of some types of spin triplet superconductivity, which is similar to the case that magnetic field reduces the spin singlet superconductivity due to Zeeman splitting. It is well known that Fulde-Ferrel-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO) state of spin singlet superconductivity is realized near the Pauli limit (or Chandrasekhar-Clogston limit) of external magnetic field. In FFLO state the amplitude of the order parameter is not uniform in space. In this paper we study the FFLO state in the spin triplet superconductivity in the absence of magnetic field due to the spin-orbit coupling. Although the FFLO state is not realized in the simple model with spherical Fermi surface, it will be stabilized if some condition is favorable for it. We discuss the possibility of FFLO state in CePt$_3$Si in the absence of external magnetic field.Comment: 2 pages, 1 figure, M2S-HTSC VII

Publicidade de Alimentos e Escolhas Alimentares de Crianças

The effect of cartoon videos with advertisements of healthy and unhealthy food versus neutral videos on food choices was assessed in 24 children from a public school. The videos were presented in 5 sessions. Each group was exposed to a specific sequence of advertisement. After the exposure of the videos, the child chose food figures for daily meals. Within and between subject analyses, performed by repeated measures ANCOVA, showed that with change of videos, the children altered by up to 13% their choices of healthy or unhealthy food. The increase of healthy food advertising and the decrease of unhealthy food advertising may contribute for healthy food and weight.O efeito de vídeos de desenhos com publicidade de alimentos saudáveis e não saudáveis e vídeos neutros sobre as escolhas alimentares foi avaliado em crianças. Os vídeos foram apresentados em 5 sessões, sendo cada grupo exposto a diferente seqüência de apresentação dos vídeos com publicidade. Após assistir ao vídeo, a criança escolhia figuras de alimentos para as refeições do dia. Análises intra e entre grupos de crianças por meio da Ancova de medidas repetidas demonstrou que há interação nos resultados. Quando há mudança de vídeos, as crianças tendem a escolher diferentes quantidades de figuras de alimentos saudáveis ou não. A regulamentação da publicidade e o incentivo à publicidade de alimentos saudáveis podem ser instrumentos para a promoção da alimentação saudável

Clinical Application of the Ratio of Serum Bone Isoform to Total Alkaline Phosphatase in General Practice

Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) is an enzyme that is expressed in a variety of tissues. Among the isoforms of ALP, bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (BAP) is used as a marker for evaluating bone metabolism. We investigated the clinical usefulness of the ratio of serum BAP to total ALP for the diagnosis of various disorders in general practice. We retrospectively analyzed the cases of 107 Japanese patients whose serum BAP levels were exam-ined, focusing on clinical characteristics. We observed that the BAP/ALP ratios of the patients with fever and those with inflammatory diseases were significantly lower than the ratios of other patient groups. The BAP/ALP ratios of the patients with osteoporosis and those with metabolic bone diseases were higher than those of the patients with other conditions. The BAP/ALP ratio was found to be negatively correlated with age, a cor-relation that has not been found in other ethnicities. The serum BAP/ALP ratio was inversely correlated with serum CRP levels but was positively correlated with serum albumin levels and hemoglobin concentrations. Collectively, our results suggest that the BAP/ALP ratio could be a useful predictor for important geriatric con-ditions seen in general practice

Clinical Manifestations of Patients with Influenza Differ by Age : A Prospective, Multi-centered Study in the Setouchi Marine Area

Influenza potentially has a high mortality rate when it affects the elderly. We aimed to examine the differences in clinical manifestations in patients with influenza according to their age. This multicenter prospective study was performed in six medical institutions in Okayama and Kagawa prefectures (Japan). Between December 1, 2019 and March 31, 2020, we collected data on adult patients diagnosed with influenza type A, who were strat-ified into younger (20-49 years), middle-aged (50-64 years), and older groups (≥ 65 years). We compared the presence or absence of fever, respiratory symptoms, and extrapulmonary symptoms according to age group. In total, 203 patients (113, younger; 51, middle-aged; and 39, older) were eligible for the analysis. The maxi-mum body temperature and temperature at first physician visit in the older group were significantly lower than those in the younger group. The incidence of respiratory symptoms was not different among the three groups. Chills, muscle pain, and arthralgia as systemic symptoms were noted significantly more frequently in the younger (80.9%) and middle-aged (75.5%) groups than in the older group (51.3%) (p = 0.002). Fever and sys-temic symptoms were less likely to appear in older patients, possibly resulting in the delaying of hospital visits among older adults

Antimicrobial prescription practices for outpatients with acute respiratory tract infections: A retrospective, multicenter, medical record-based study

Antimicrobial stewardship for outpatients with acute respiratory tract infections (ARTIs) should be urgently promoted in this era of antimicrobial resistance. Previous large-sample studies were based on administrative data and had limited reliability. We aimed to identify current antimicrobial prescription practices for ARTIs by directly basing on medical records. This multicenter retrospective study was performed from January to December in 2018, at five medical institutes in Japan. We targeted outpatients aged >= 18 years whose medical records revealed International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) codes suggesting ARTIs. We divided the eligible cases into three age groups (18-64 years, 65-74 years, and >= 75 years). We defined broad-spectrum antimicrobials as third-generation cephalosporins, macrolides, fluoroquinolones, and faropenem. Primary and secondary outcomes were defined as the proportion of antimicrobial prescriptions for the common cold and other respiratory tract infections, respectively. Totally, data of 3,940 patients were collected. Of 2,914 patients with the common cold, 369 (12.7%) were prescribed antimicrobials. Overall, compared to patients aged >= 75 years (8.5%), those aged 18-64 years (16.6%) and those aged 65-74 years (12.1%) were frequently prescribed antimicrobials for the common cold (odds ratio [95% confidential interval]; 2.15 [1.64-2.82] and 1.49 [1.06-2.09], respectively). However, when limited to cases with a valid diagnosis of the common cold by incorporating clinical data, no statistical difference was observed among the age groups. Broad-spectrum antimicrobials accounted for 90.2% of the antimicrobials used for the common cold. Of 1,026 patients with other respiratory infections, 1,018 (99.2%) were bronchitis, of which antimicrobials were prescribed in 49.9% of the cases. Broad-spectrum antimicrobials were the main agents prescribed, accounting for nearly 90% of prescriptions in all age groups. Our data suggested a favorable practice of antimicrobial prescription for outpatients with ARTIs in terms of prescribing proportions, or quantitative aspect. However, the prescriptions were biased towards broad-spectrum antimicrobials, highlighting the need for further antimicrobial stewardship in the outpatient setting from a qualitative perspective

Antimicrobial prescription practices for outpatients with uncomplicated cystitis in Japan

To promote antimicrobial stewardship, we studied antimicrobial prescription rates for uncomplicated cystitis, a common outpatient disease requiring antibiotic treatment. This multicenter retrospective study was performed from January 1, 2018, to December 31, 2020, in Japan, targeting outpatients aged >= 20 years whose medical records revealed International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) codes suggesting uncomplicated cystitis (N300). The data of 1445 patients were collected and that of 902 patients were analyzed. The overall median patient age was 71 years and a proportion of those aged less than 50 years was 18.8% with a female dominance (82.6%). Antimicrobials were prescribed for 884 patients (98.0%) and a total of 623 patients (69.1%) were treated with broad-spectrum drugs, including fluoroquinolones (36.0%), third-generation cephalosporins (29.9%) and faropenem (3.1%). A logistic regression model revealed that the broad-spectrum agents were significantly prescribed for the older patients, male patients, and those who visited internists. Recurrence was observed in 37 (4.1%) cases, and the multivariate analysis suggested any of age, sex, or antimicrobial types were not associated with the recurrence. Collectively, approximately two-thirds of antimicrobials prescribed for uncomplicated cystitis were broad-spectrum agents. The present data would be an indicator for antimicrobial prescriptions in uncomplicated cystitis in Japan

Restoration of the Ellipsoid Zone and Visual Prognosis at 1 Year after Surgical Macular Hole Closure

Purpose. To evaluate the restoration of the ellipsoid zone (EZ) and its influence on visual prognosis 1 year after surgical macular hole (MH) closure. Method. Subjects were patients with stage 2, 3, or 4 idiopathic MH who underwent primary vitrectomy that resulted in successful hole closure. Nineteen eyes with both EZ disruption with foveal detachment and a continuous external limiting membrane on optical coherence tomography during the early postoperative period were included in this study. Result. EZ disruption was restored in 10 eyes (53%, Group A) and remained in 9 eyes (47%, Group B) at 1 year after surgery. In Group B, the diameter of the residual EZ disruption was 54.7±33.1 μm. LogMAR visual acuity (VA) 1 year after surgery was significantly better than preoperative VA in each group (Group A: -0.007±0.102; P<0.001; Group B: 0.051±0.148; P<0.001), but there was no significant difference between the 2 groups (P=0.332). There was no significant correlation between logMAR VA and EZ disruption diameter at 1 year after surgery. Conclusion. EZ was restored in 53% of eyes at 1 year after surgical closure of idiopathic MH. Mean residual EZ disruption diameter was 54.7±33.1 μm. Neither resolved nor residual EZ disruption influenced postoperative VA