Crustal structure derived from seismic refractions and wide-angle reflections in the Mizuho Plateau, East Antarctica

Large seismic explosion experiments were conducted on the traverse route from Syowa to Mizuho Stations by the 41st Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition (JARE-41) in 1999-2000 and JARE-21 in 1980-1981. The P-wave velocity structure of the ice sheet, the crust and the uppermost mantle in the Mizuho Plateau, East Antarctica, is deduced from travel-time analysis of the combined data of refractions and wide-angle reflections. The ice sheet has a surface layer 60-100 m in thickness with P-wave velocity of 2.34 - 3.01 km/s, while the deeper part has a P-wave velocity of 3.80 - 3.85 km/s. There is a v-shaped valley with a drop of 600 m in the basement topography at the middle of the profile line; this is consistent with the variations of the ice-sheet flow. The uppermost crust has a P-wave velocity of 6.17 - 6.20 km/s on the coastal side, 6.08 km/s under the above mentioned v-shaped valley and 6.21 - 6.26 km/s on the inland side. The middle and the lower crustal P-wave velocities are 6.45 and 6.56 km/s, and their thicknesses are about 10 and 20 km, respectively. The Moho boundary is almost 40km deep with a gentle dip toward the inland direction with a Pn velocity of 8.03 km/s. The Vp/Vs value of 1.70 for the entire crust is derived from S-wave travel-time analysis. Moreover, calculated gravity anomalies, based on the obtained velocity structure and a density-velocity relation obtained in the laboratory experiments, coincide well with observed anomalies, but there are some misfits at the v-shaped valley of the basement rock and around the S-1 and S-6 shot points at both ends of the profile. Compared with the results from high pressure laboratory measurements of velocities for metamorphic rocks, it is implied that felsic gneiss is possibly dominant in the uppermost crust along the Mizuho traverse route and that the basement layer with a P-wave velocity of 4.69 km/s near the coast and the v-shaped valley may be a mixture of ice with sand or stone

Asymmetric reductive cyclization using the intramolecular conjugate addition of enolates onto α,β-unsaturated sulfoxides

Li(sec-Bu)3BH-mediated reductive cyclization of optically pure 8-((S)-p-tolylsulfinyl)-(2E,7Z)-octadienoate 9 and 7-(p-tolylsulfinyl)-2,6-heptadienoate 16 afforded trans-2-((p-tolylsulfinyl)-methyl)cyclohexane-1-carboxylate and trans-2-((p-tolylsulfinyl)methyl)cyclopentane-1-carboxylate, respectively, as a single isomer

Reduction of 223Ra retention in the Large Intestine During Targeted Alpha Therapy with 223RaCl2 by Oral BaSO4 Administration in Mice

Background: Targeted alpha therapy with 223RaCl2 is used to treat skeletal metastases of hormone-refractory prostate cancer. The intravenous injection of 223RaCl2 causes gastrointestinal disorders such as nausea, abdominal discomfort, and diarrhea as frequent clinical adverse events caused by radiation. BaSO4 is known to display Ra2+ ion uptake in its structure and is clinically used as a contrast agent for X-ray imaging following oral administration. Here, we investigated the feasibility of a method to reduce 223Ra retention in the large intestine with BaSO4 by biodistribution studies in mice. Methods: 223RaCl2 biodistribution was examined in ddY mice after intravenous administration (10 kBq/mouse).BaSO4 (100 mg/mouse) was orally administered 1 h before 223RaCl2 injection. We also investigated the effect of laxative treatment on BaSO4 activity, since laxatives are clinically used with BaSO4 to avoid impaction in the large intestine. Results: BaSO4 significantly reduced 223Ra retention in the large intestine after 223RaCl2 injection in mice when compared with the control without BaSO4 administration (P < 0.05). Excretion of 223Ra into the feces was significantly increased by BaSO4 administration (P < 0.05). Laxative treatment did not affect BaSO4 activity in reducing 223Ra retention, although no additional effect of laxative treatment to 223Ra excretion was observed in mice. Conclusions. BaSO4 administration was effective in reducing 223Ra retention in the large intestine during 223RaCl2 therapy, and laxative treatment did not attenuate BaSO4 activity. This method could be useful in reducing adverse events caused by radiation exposure to the large intestine during 223RaCl2 therapy

Honeycomb-Layered Oxides With Silver Atom Bilayers and Emergence of Non-Abelian SU(2) Interactions

Honeycomb-layered oxides with monovalent or divalent, monolayered cationic lattices generally exhibit myriad crystalline features encompassing rich electrochemistry, geometries, and disorders, which particularly places them as attractive material candidates for next-generation energy storage applications. Herein, global honeycomb-layered oxide compositions, Ag2M2TeO6 ((Formula presented.).) exhibiting (Formula presented.) atom bilayers with sub-valent states within Ag-rich crystalline domains of Ag6M2TeO6 and (Formula presented.) -deficient domains of (Formula presented.) ((Formula presented.)). The (Formula presented.) -rich material characterized by aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy reveals local atomic structural disorders characterized by aperiodic stacking and incoherency in the bilayer arrangement of (Formula presented.) atoms. Meanwhile, the global material not only displays high ionic conductivity but also manifests oxygen-hole electrochemistry during silver-ion extraction. Within the (Formula presented.) -rich domains, the bilayered structure, argentophilic interactions therein and the expected (Formula presented.) sub-valent states ((Formula presented.), etc.) are theoretically understood via spontaneous symmetry breaking of SU(2) 7 U(1) gauge symmetry interactions amongst 3 degenerate mass-less chiral fermion states, justified by electron occupancy of silver (Formula presented.) and 5s orbitals on a bifurcated honeycomb lattice. This implies that bilayered frameworks have research applications that go beyond the confines of energy storage

Mixed alkali-ion transport and storage in atomic-disordered honeycomb layered NaKNi2TeO6

Honeycomb layered oxides constitute an emerging class of materials that show interesting physicochemical and electrochemical properties. However, the development of these materials is still limited. Here, we report the combined use of alkali atoms (Na and K) to produce a mixed-alkali honeycomb layered oxide material, namely, NaKNi2TeO6. Via transmission electron microscopy measurements, we reveal the local atomic structural disorders characterised by aperiodic stacking and incoherency in the alternating arrangement of Na and K atoms. We also investigate the possibility of mixed electrochemical transport and storage of Na+ and K+ ions in NaKNi2TeO6. In particular, we report an average discharge cell voltage of about 4 V and a specific capacity of around 80 mAh g–1 at low specific currents (i.e., < 10 mA g–1) when a NaKNi2TeO6-based positive electrode is combined with a room-temperature NaK liquid alloy negative electrode using an ionic liquid-based electrolyte solution. These results represent a step towards the use of tailored cathode active materials for “dendrite-free” electrochemical energy storage systems exploiting room-temperature liquid alkali metal alloy materials

Serologic Evidence of Tick-Borne Encephalitis Virus Infection in a Patient with Suspected Lyme Disease in Japan

Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is widely prevalent on the Eurasian continent, including Japan, but four cases of TBE have been reported in Japan. To inspect unconfirmed TBE cases in Japan, we conducted a retrospective seroepidemiological study of a total of 158 samples from 81 meningoencephalitis patients suspected as Lyme disease. Two serum samples from one patient showed neutralizing antibodies against TBE virus. The patient with severe and progressive encephalitis had a history of tick bite in Hokkaido in 2012. These results demonstrated that tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) case was actually unconfirmed in Japan. Further seroepidemiological surveys are required to identify unconfirmed TBEV infections to consider the pros and cons of introducing specific countermeasures including vaccination in Japan

Survival outcomes of esophageal cancer patients with recurrence after curative treatments

Abstract Background Little is known about predictive factors for survival outcomes of esophageal carcinoma (EC) patients who developed recurrence after undergoing multimodal therapies. We aimed to investigate long-term outcomes and identify prognostic factors in patients with relapsed EC, focusing especially on those with oligometastasis (OM). Methods EC patients who developed recurrence after curative treatments (radical esophagectomy or definitive chemoradiotherapy (dCRT)) between 2010 and 2017 were reviewed. Multivariate Cox hazards models were applied to determine independent predictors of poor post-recurrence survival (PRS). Results In total, 178 patients were included. The median PRS was 12.9 months. Of the 178 patients, 98 had OM and 80 non-OM (NOM) disease. The survival outcomes of patients with OM were significantly better than those of patients with NOM (P < 0.01). Surgical treatments provided significantly better survival outcomes than CRT or chemo-/radiotherapy alone (3-year overall survival (OS); 78.1% vs. 42.5% vs. 28.9%, P < 0.01), mainly due to prolonging survival after the recurrence (3-year PRS 62.9% vs. 16.7% vs. 16.2%, P < 0.01). Multivariable analysis focusing on patients with OM revealed cStage III-IV disease (P < 0.01), high GPS at the time of recurrence (P = 0.02) and non-curative treatments (P < 0.01), to be independently associated with poor PRS. In contrast, in patients with NOM, no independent predictors for poor PRS were identified. Conclusions The survival outcomes of patients with relapsed EC remain poor. Surgical treatments could provide survival benefits for patients with recurrent EC, especially for patients with OM