Viscosity of bridgmanite determined by in situ stress and strain measurements in uniaxial deformation experiments

To understand mantle dynamics, it is important to determine the rheological properties of bridgmanite, the dominant mineral in Earth’s mantle. Nevertheless, experimental data on the viscosity of bridgmanite are quite limited due to experimental difficulties. Here, we report viscosity and deformation mechanism maps of bridgmanite at the uppermost lower mantle conditions obtained through in situ stress-strain measurements of bridgmanite using deformation apparatuses with the Kawai-type cell. Bridgmanite would be the hardest among mantle constituent minerals even under nominally dry conditions in the dislocation creep region, consistent with the observation that the lower mantle is the hardest layer. Deformation mechanism maps of bridgmanite indicate that grain size of bridgmanite and stress conditions at top of the lower mantle would be several millimeters and ~105 Pa to realize viscosity of 1021–22 Pa·s, respectively. This grain size of bridgmanite suggests that the main part of the lower mantle is isolated from the convecting mantle as primordial reservoirs

近赤外線スペクトロスコピィを用いた覚醒剤精神病と統合失調症の鑑別

Despite some slight differences in symptomatology, differential diagnosis of methamphetamine-induced psychosis (MAP) versus schizophrenia can be challenging because both disorders present a large overlap in their clinical symptoms. However, a recent study has shown that near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) performed during a cognitive task can be a powerful tool to differentiate between these two disorders. Here, we evaluated verbal fluency task performance during NIRS in 15 patients diagnosed with MAP and 19 with schizophrenia matched for age and sex. We used prefrontal probes and a 24-channel NIRS machine to measure the relative concentrations of oxyhaemoglobin every 0.1 s during the task. For each patient, the neurocognitive function and clinical psychopathology were evaluated using the Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS), and the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS). Oxyhaemoglobin changes in the prefrontal cortex were significantly higher in the MAP group compared to those in the schizophrenia group, particularly in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. In contrast, we found no significant difference in PANSS and BACS scores. Our findings suggest that NIRS measurement could be applied to differentiate patients with MAP from those with schizophrenia, even in cases where clinical symptoms are similar.博士（医学）・甲第645号・平成28年3月15日This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

Risk assessments for broncho-pleural fistula and respiratory failure after lung cancer surgery by National Clinical Database Japan

BackgroundBroncho-pleural fistula (BPF) and respiratory failure (RF) are life-threatening complications after lung cancer surgery and can result in long-term hospitalization and decreased quality of life. Risk assessments for BPF and RF in addition to mortality and major morbidities are indispensable in surgical decision-making and perioperative care.MethodsThe characteristics and operative data of 80,095 patients who had undergone lung cancer surgery were derived from the 2014 and 2015 National Clinical Database (NCD) of Japan datasets. After excluding 1501 patients, risk models were developed from these data and validated by another dataset for 42,352 patients derived from the 2016 NCD dataset. Receiver operating characteristic curves were generated for postoperative BPF and RF development. The concordance-index was used to assess the discriminatory ability and validity of the model.ResultsBPF and RF occurred in 259 (0.3%) and 420 patients (0.5%), respectively, in the model development dataset and in 129 (0.3%) and 198 patients (0.5%), respectively, in the model validation dataset. Characteristic variables including types of surgery and comorbidities were identified as risk factors for BPF and RF, respectively. The concordance indexes of assessments for BPF and RF were 0.847 (p < 0.001) and 0.848 (p < 0.001), respectively, for the development dataset and 0.850 (p < 0.001) and 0.844 (p < 0.001), respectively, for the validation dataset.ConclusionsThese models are satisfactory for predicting BPF and RF after lung cancer surgery in Japan and could guide preoperative assessment and optimal measures for preventing BPF and RF

The Japanese space gravitational wave antenna; DECIGO

DECi-hertz Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory (DECIGO) is the future Japanese space gravitational wave antenna. DECIGO is expected to open a new window of observation for gravitational wave astronomy especially between 0.1 Hz and 10 Hz, revealing various mysteries of the universe such as dark energy, formation mechanism of supermassive black holes, and inflation of the universe. The pre-conceptual design of DECIGO consists of three drag-free spacecraft, whose relative displacements are measured by a differential Fabry– Perot Michelson interferometer. We plan to launch two missions, DECIGO pathfinder and pre- DECIGO first and finally DECIGO in 2024

DECIGO pathfinder

DECIGO pathfinder (DPF) is a milestone satellite mission for DECIGO (DECi-hertz Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory) which is a future space gravitational wave antenna. DECIGO is expected to provide us fruitful insights into the universe, in particular about dark energy, a formation mechanism of supermassive black holes, and the inflation of the universe. Since DECIGO will be an extremely large mission which will formed by three drag-free spacecraft with 1000m separation, it is significant to gain the technical feasibility of DECIGO before its planned launch in 2024. Thus, we are planning to launch two milestone missions: DPF and pre-DECIGO. The conceptual design and current status of the first milestone mission, DPF, are reviewed in this article

Selective oxidation of pyrogallol-type catechins with unripe fruit homogenate of Citrus unshiu and structural revision of oolongtheanins

In our previous chemical study of the production mechanism of black tea polyphenols, we demonstrated that Japanese pear fruit homogenate oxidizes green tea catechins bearing pyrogallol-type and catechol-type B-rings to produce theaflavins and dehydrotheasinensins. In contrast, unripe fruit homogenate of Citrus unshiu selectively oxidizes pyrogallol-type catechins to yield only dehydrotheasinensins. The difference in the selectivity of the two homogenates is probably related to the lower redox potential of pyrogallol-type catechins. The oxidation of epigallocatechin with C. unshiu homogenate gave two new compounds, including an ethanol adduct of an oolongtheanin precursor and epigallocatechin 4′-O-rutinoside, together with theasinensin C, dehydrotheasinensin E, and desgalloyl oolongtheanin. The structure of desgalloyl oolongtheanin should be revised based on the spectroscopic and computational data collected in the current study, and a mechanism responsible for the production of oolongtheanins is also proposed

Phase II trial of aflibercept with FOLFIRI as a second‐line treatment for Japanese patients with metastatic colorectal cancer

Aflibercept targets vascular endothelial growth factor. The present study involved assessing the efficacy, safety and pharmacokinetics of aflibercept plus 5‐fluorouracil/levofolinate/irinotecan (FOLFIRI) as a second‐line treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) in Japanese patients. Aflibercept (4 mg/kg) plus FOLFIRI was administered every 2 weeks in 62 patients with mCRC until disease progression, unacceptable toxicity or patient withdrawal. Tumors were imaged every 6 weeks. The primary endpoint was objective response rate (ORR); secondary endpoints were progression‐free survival, overall survival, safety, and pharmacokinetics of aflibercept, irinotecan and 5‐fluorouracil. A total of 60 patients were evaluated for ORR; 50 had received prior bevacizumab. The ORR was 8.3% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.3%‐15.3%), and the disease control rate (DCR) was 80.0% (69.9%‐90.1%). The median progression‐free survival was 5.42 months (4.14‐6.70 months) and the median overall survival was 15.59 months (11.20‐19.81 months). No treatment‐related deaths were observed, and no significant drug‐drug interactions were found. The most common treatment‐emergent adverse events were neutropenia and decreased appetite. Free aflibercept had a mean maximum concentration (coefficient of variation) of 73.2 μg/mL (15%), clearance of 0.805 L/d (22%) and volume of distribution of 6.2 L (18%); aflibercept bound with vascular endothelial growth factor had a clearance of 0.162 L/d (9%) (N = 62). Aflibercept did not significantly affect the pharmacokinetics of irinotecan or 5‐fluorouracil: The clearance was 11.1 L/h/m2 (28%) for irinotecan and, at steady state, 72.6 L/h/m2 (56%) for 5‐fluorouracil (N = 10). Adding aflibercept to FOLFIRI was shown to be beneficial and well‐tolerated in Japanese patients with mCRC. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01882868

The status of DECIGO

DECIGO (DECi-hertz Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory) is the planned Japanese space gravitational wave antenna, aiming to detect gravitational waves from astrophysically and cosmologically significant sources mainly between 0.1 Hz and 10 Hz and thus to open a new window for gravitational wave astronomy and for the universe. DECIGO will consists of three drag-free spacecraft arranged in an equilateral triangle with 1000 km arm lengths whose relative displacements are measured by a differential Fabry-Perot interferometer, and four units of triangular Fabry-Perot interferometers are arranged on heliocentric orbit around the sun. DECIGO is vary ambitious mission, we plan to launch DECIGO in era of 2030s after precursor satellite mission, B-DECIGO. B-DECIGO is essentially smaller version of DECIGO: B-DECIGO consists of three spacecraft arranged in an triangle with 100 km arm lengths orbiting 2000 km above the surface of the earth. It is hoped that the launch date will be late 2020s for the present