Estimated peak metamorphic temperature of the Sanbagawa schists from Nagatoro area, Kanto Mountains, using Raman microspectrometry on carbonaceous materials

The deformation regime of the Sanbagawa metamorphic rocks of the Kanto Mountains have long been controversial, whether it is one plastic continuous body or it is composed of several parts separated by faults or thrusts. One of the key must lie in the area where rocks with different mineral assemblage are found adjacent to each other. Most of the Nagatoro area is categorized as the lowest metamorphic grade zone which is defined by the mineral assemblage without garnet. Several outcrops in this area are known to contain garnet. It has been argued that the appearance of garnet indicates juxtaposition of rocks from different metamorphic grade, suggesting structural discontinuity. To investigate whether the local garnet occurrence was the discontinuity, Raman microspectrometry was applied carbonaceous materials in 27 rock samples in a continuous outcrop in this study. The estimated temperature was 400 to 460℃ with no structural gap or tendency recognizable when mapped. Samples with and without garnet both produced results comparable to each other. No evidence was obtained to show that the local garnet occurrence at the outcrop is due to structural discontinuity. The estimated temperature range was consistent with the beginning condition of the garnet formation. It is likely that the boundary between the garnet bearing rocks and those without garnet was originally continuous, with the condition just on the border to start growing garnet

Field experiments on chironomid phototaxis at the shore of Lake Kojima, Japan

Phototaxis in response to a variety of lamps, including white and colored fluorescent and LED lamps, was compared by species and sex among the chironomids, from Lake Kojima, Okayama Prefecture, Japan. Males were usually much more attracted to lights than were females. Pantanal white attracted the highest number of species among six white lamps. Among five colored lamps, Blue attracted the highest number and Black the lowest number. Among 5 LED lamps, Blue again attracted the highest number and Amber the lowest number. In terms of the number of individuals attracted, Pantanal white was the highest among white lamps for the seven major species. Green and Blue were the highest for the six and seven major species, respectively, and Yellow and Red did not attract the highest number of individuals of any species among colored lamps. Green LED was the highest among LEDs for the seven major species while Amber and Red LEDs were not the highest for any species

Development of hydroxyapatite-coated nonwovens for efficient isolation of somatic stem cells from adipose tissues

Adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) are an attractive cell source for cell therapy. Despite the increasing number of clinical applications, the methodology for ASC isolation is not optimized for every individual. In this study, we developed an effective material to stabilize explant cultures from small-fragment adipose tissues. Methods: Polypropylene/polyethylene nonwoven sheets were coated with hydroxyapatite (HA) particles. Adipose fragments were then placed on these sheets, and their ability to trap tissue was monitored during explant culture. The yield and properties of the cells were compared to those of cells isolated by conventional collagenase digestion. Results: Hydroxyapatite-coated nonwovens immediately trapped adipose fragments when placed on the sheets. The adhesion was stable even in culture media, leading to cell migration and proliferation from the tissue along with the nonwoven fibers. A higher fiber density further enhanced cell growth. Although cells on nonwoven explants could not be fully collected with cell dissociation enzymes, the cell yield was significantly higher than that of conventional monolayer culture without impacting stem cell properties. Conclusions: Hydroxyapatite-coated nonwovens are useful for the effective primary explant culture of connective tissues without enzymatic cell dissociation

Comparison of Hospitalization Incidence in Influenza Outpatients Treated With Baloxavir Marboxil or Neuraminidase Inhibitors: A Health Insurance Claims Database Study

Background: Baloxavir marboxil (baloxavir) is a single-dose, oral antiinfluenza drug with a novel mechanism of action. We compared the incidence of hospitalization in patients treated with baloxavir vs neuraminidase inhibitors.Methods: In this retrospective, observational, cohort study, we used real-world patient data extracted from a Japanese health insurance claims database. The enrollment period was 1 October 2018 to 17 April 2019. On day 1, eligible patients (N = 339 007) received baloxavir, oseltamivir, zanamivir, or laninamivir. Baseline characteristics were standardized using the inverse probability of treatment weighting method. The primary end point was the incidence of hospitalization (days 2–14). Secondary end points included antibacterial use, secondary pneumonia, and additional antiinfluenza drug use.Results: Compared with the baloxavir group, the incidence of hospitalization was greater in the oseltamivir group (risk ratio [RR] and 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.41 [1.00–2.00]; risk difference [RD] and 95% CI, 0.06 [.01–.12]) and zanamivir group (RR, 1.85 [1.23–2.78]; RD, 0.11 [.02–.20]). Oseltamivir-treated patients were less likely to require antibacterials than baloxavir-treated patients (RR, 0.87 [.82–.91]). However, oseltamivir-treated patients were more likely to be hospitalized with antibacterials (RR, 1.70 [1.21–2.38]) or antibacterial injection (RR, 1.67 [1.17–2.38]) than baloxavir-treated patients (post hoc analysis). Compared with baloxavir-treated patients, additional antiinfluenza drug use was greater in oseltamivir-, zanamivir-, and laninamivir-treated patients (RR, 1.51 [1.05–2.18], 2.84 [2.04–3.96], and 1.68 [1.35–2.10], respectively).Conclusions: Baloxavir is an efficacious antiinfluenza treatment that may reduce hospitalization compared with oseltamivir and zanamivir.Clinical Trials Registration: University hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trials Registry (UMIN000038159)

Collective settling of fine particles in a narrow channel with arbitrary cross-section

Gravitationalsettlingoffineparticlesinaliquid-fillednarrowchannelhasbeenstudiedexperimentally and theoretically.Previousstudieshaveshownthattheparticulatesuspensionwithconcentration interfacetowardgravitationaldirectionbehavesasacontinuousfluidforhighconcentrationandsmall particle size,andthegravity-inducedinstabilityattheinterfaceenhancesthesettlingmotionof particles.Thepurposeofthisstudyistoinvestigatehowsuchaconcentrationinterfacebehavesand how particlessettlebygravityinvariousfinite-sizedchannels.Theexperimentalandtheoreticalresults indicatethattheaspectratioofthechannelcross-sectionisanimportantparameterfordescribingthe settlingbehaviorofparticulatesuspension.Moreover,wepredictthevelocityofthecollectivesettling of particlesinchannelswitharbitrarycross-section

Thermodynamic Correlation between Liquid–Liquid Phase Separation and Crystalline Solubility of Drug-Like Molecules

The purpose of the present study was to experimentally confirm the thermodynamic correlation between the intrinsic liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS) concentration (S0LLPS) and crystalline solubility (S0c) of drug-like molecules. Based on the thermodynamic principles, the crystalline solubility LLPS concentration melting point (Tm) equation (CLME) was derived (log10S0C=log10S0LLPS−0.0095Tm−310 for 310 K). The S0LLPS values of 31 drugs were newly measured by simple bulk phase pH-shift or solvent-shift precipitation tests coupled with laser-assisted visual turbidity detection. To ensure the precipitant was not made crystalline at <10 s, the precipitation tests were also performed under the polarized light microscope. The calculated and observed log10S0C values showed a good correlation (root mean squared error: 0.40 log unit, absolute average error: 0.32 log unit)