Primitive clasts in the Dar al Gani 319 polymict ureilite: Precursors of the ureilites

Primitive clasts in the polymict ureilite Dar al Gani (DaG) 319 include dark clasts, sulfide- or metal-rich clasts, and unusual chondritic fragments. The dark clasts consist mainly of phyllosilicates, sulfides and magnetite with or without fayalitic olivine. The sulfide-rich clasts consist of a silicate-rich matrix and heterogeneously distributed sulfide. The metal-rich clasts consist of a silicate-rich matrix with variable amounts of metal. The unusual chondritic fragments are chondrule and equilibrated chondrite fragments. Oxygen isotopic compositions of the silicate-rich matrices in the sulfide-rich or metal-rich clasts plot on the carbonaceous chondrite anhydrous mineral (CCAM) mixing line between Allende matrix and a dark clast in the Nilpena polymict ureilite. Their oxygen isotopic compositions are similar to those of the monomict ureilites. Considering its chondritic composition and oxygen isotopic composition, the silicate-rich matrix of the sulfide-rich clasts is the best candidate for the ureilite precursors. However, the matrix has an Mg/(Mg+Fe) ratio (mg ratio) of 0.56 and is too ferroan to produce the monomict ureilites with mg ratios of 0.74-0.95. Therefore, it may have experienced various degrees of reduction to produce precursors with the mg ratios, needed to form the monomict ureilites as residues during fractional melting. Oxygen isotopic compositions of the unusual chondritic fragments plot near the ordinary chondrites on a 3-isotope diagram, suggesting that they have no direct genetic relationship to the monomict ureilites. They were projectiles that collided with the ureilite parent body (UPB)

The genesis of phosphatic and carbonate rocks in the Toyoma Formation, Northeastern Japan

Various phosphatic and carbonate rocks occur in the Upper Permian Toyoma Formation. They are classified into phosphatic nodules, A-, B-and C-type rocks.The isotopic ratios of whole-rock calcite,pyrite and apatite in the rocks and the results of pyrite microanalysis using a high-resolution secondary ion mass spectrometer are presented. The carbon and sulfur isotopic compositions indicate that the rocks were formed through microbial sulfate reduction. Three distinct zones have been recognized within the Toyoma Formation that define its early diagenesis. The three zones’compositions differ in their mole fractions of authigenic material and the δ13C of their calcite deposits. Zone 1 is the region of oxic surface sediment in which sulfur-oxidizing bacteria grew.Because sulfuric acid is generated by the chemosynthesis of the bacteria, biogenic phosphate debris such as fish bones and scales were dissolved.The phosphate ions thus formed were the source of the phosphatic rocks of the Toyoma Formation.Zone 2 is the anoxic zone that underlay Zone 1. Anaerobic sulfate-reducing bacteria grew in this zone, resulting in increased pore water alkalinity and the precipitation of pyrite and apatite. Phosphatic nodules and A-and B-type rocks began to grow in this zone.Zone 3 is characterized by calcite precipitation. The pore water, saturated with calcite components, segregated from the sediments into rocks allowing the rocks to be calcareous. As sediments became buried deeper and deeper, they experienced the conditions of each successive zone. However, the period of final consolidation of the rocks differed from one rock type to another as evidenced by the varying δ1C values for calcite contained in the different rock types. Although the rocks are mixtures of authigenic minerals originating in different zones, it was possible to estimate the range of diagenetic zones in which each rock type was formed.ArticleJournal of the Faculty of Science Shinshu University 44: 1-57(2012)departmental bulletin pape

Controlling keywords and their positions in text generation

One of the challenges in text generation is to control generation as intended by a user. Previous studies have proposed to specify the keywords that should be included in the generated text. However, this is insufficient to generate text which reflect the user intent. For example, placing the important keyword beginning of the text would helps attract the reader's attention, but existing methods do not enable such flexible control. In this paper, we tackle a novel task of controlling not only keywords but also the position of each keyword in the text generation. To this end, we show that a method using special tokens can control the relative position of keywords. Experimental results on summarization and story generation tasks show that the proposed method can control keywords and their positions. We also demonstrate that controlling the keyword positions can generate summary texts that are closer to the user's intent than baseline. We release our code

Search for 60Ni excesses in MET-78008 ureilite: An ion microprobe study

We have developed a technique for in-situ Ni isotopic analysis using the ion microprobe, in order to detect ^Ni excess from the decay of the short lived nuclide ^Fe (half life=1.5Ma) in ureilite samples. The silicate minerals from MET-78008 ureilite with an old U-Pb age of 4.563±0.006 Ga were analyzed. The ^Fe/^Ni ratios of olivine and orthopyroxene are between 2700 and 5400. In spite of the high Fe/Ni ratios, we could not observe any detectable ^Ni excess. From the mean value of olivine core data, we obtain an upper limit of the ^Fe/^Fe ratio at the time of ureilite formation of 1.8×10^. The time difference between CAI formation and ureilite formation was estimated to be more than 4 million years, which is consistent with the UPb data from the same meteorite. We concluded that the impact event for the disruption of the ureilite parent body happened more than 4 million years after CAI formation. However, a large uncertainty in the initial ^Fe/^Fe ratio is introduced by the possibility that the ^Ni excess observed in CAIs is of nucleosynthetic origin. Our conclusion may change if the initial ^Fe/^Fe ratio of the solar system using CAI data is too high

Bilateral Pneumothorax Associated With Lung and Pleural Metastases of Breast Cancer

A rare case of bilateral pneumothorax in a 54-year-old woman with advanced breast cancer associated with lung and pleural metastases is presented. The patient was admitted to our hospital complaining of unexpected severe dyspnea. A chest X-ray showed bilateral pneumothorax associated with multiple lung metastases and pleural effusions, followed by immediate pleural drainage. Although air leak and effusions of the right lung were well controlled by the conservative management, massive air leaks of the left lung had continued for 40 days. Because of patient's poor general status a surgical closure of the leaking site was selected using video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery techniques. Thoracoscopy revealed a ruptured bulla in the lower lobe (S6), thus, followed by a successful bullectomy with a stapling device. We speculate that multiple pleural metastasis may disturb the normal repair mechanism of the lung tissue and cause prolonged persistent air leaks

Physical restraint of dementia patients in acute care hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cohort analysis in Japan

認知症患者に対する身体拘束の増加 --新型コロナウイルス禍での変化--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2021-11-29.[Introduction] The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has caused unprecedented challenges for the medical staff worldwide, especially for those in hospitals where COVID-19-positive patients are hospitalized. The announcement of COVID-19 hospital restrictions by the Japanese government has led to several limitations in hospital care, including an increased use of physical restraints, which could affect the care of elderly dementia patients. However, few studies have empirically validated the impact of physical restraint use during the COVID-19 pandemic. We aimed to evaluate the impact of regulatory changes, consequent to the pandemic, on physical restraint use among elderly dementia patients in acute care hospitals. [Methods] In this retrospective study, we extracted the data of elderly patients (aged > 64 years) who received dementia care in acute care hospitals between January 6, 2019, and July 4, 2020. We divided patients into two groups depending on whether they were admitted to hospitals that received COVID-19-positive patients. We calculated descriptive statistics to compare the trend in 2-week intervals and conducted an interrupted time-series analysis to validate the changes in the use of physical restraint. [Results] In hospitals that received COVID-19-positive patients, the number of patients who were physically restrained per 1, 000 hospital admissions increased after the government’s announcement, with a maximum incidence of 501.4 per 1, 000 hospital admissions between the 73rd and 74th week after the announcement. Additionally, a significant increase in the use of physical restraints for elderly dementia patients was noted (p = 0.004) in hospitals that received COVID-19-positive patients. Elderly dementia patients who required personal care experienced a significant increase in the use of physical restraints during the COVID-19 pandemic. [Conclusion] Understanding the causes and mechanisms underlying an increased use of physical restraints for dementia patients can help design more effective care protocols for similar future situations

The impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on hospital admissions for alcohol-related liver disease and pancreatitis in Japan.

COVID-19流行がアルコール関連の肝疾患・膵炎による入院に与えた影響を検証. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2021-07-14.During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, there have been health concerns related to alcohol use and misuse. We aimed to examine the population-level change in cases of alcohol-related liver disease and pancreatitis that required admission during the COVID-19 epidemic by interrupted time series (ITS) analysis using claims data. We defined the period from April 2020, when the Japanese government declared a state of emergency, as the beginning of the COVID-19 epidemic. This ITS analysis included 3, 026, 389 overall admissions and 10, 242 admissions for alcohol-related liver disease or pancreatitis from 257 hospitals between July 2018 and June 2020. The rate of admissions per 1000 admissions during the COVID-19 epidemic period (April 2020–June 2020) was 1.2 times (rate ratio: 1.22, 95% confidence interval: 1.12–1.33) compared to the pre-epidemic period. Analyses stratified by sex revealed that the increases in admission rates of alcohol-related liver disease or pancreatitis for females were higher than for males during the COVID-19 epidemic period. The COVID-19 epidemic in Japan might associates an increase in hospital admissions for alcohol-related liver disease and pancreatitis. Our study could support the concern of alcohol consumption and health problems during the COVID-19 pandemic

Trends, Treatment Approaches, and In-Hospital Mortality for Acute Coronary Syndrome in Japan During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic

Aim: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has left negative spillover effects on the entire health care system. Previous studies have suggested significant declines in cases of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: We performed a quasi-experimental, retrospective cohort study of ACS hospitalisations by using a multi-institutional administrative claims database in Japan. We used interrupted time series analyses to ascertain impacts on cases, treatment approaches, and in-hospital mortality before and after Japan’s state of emergency to respond to COVID-19. The primary outcome was the change in ACS cases per week. Results: A total of 30, 198 ACS cases (including 21, 612 acute myocardial infarction and 8, 586 unstable angina) were confirmed between 1st July 2018 and 30th June 2020. After the state of emergency, an immediate decrease was observed in ACS cases per week (-18.3%; 95% confidence interval, -13.1 to -23.5%). No significant differences were found in the severity of Killip classification (P=0.51) or cases of fibrinolytic therapy (P=0.74). The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on in-hospital mortality in ACS patients was no longer observed after adjustment for clinical characteristics (adjusted odds ratio, 0.93; 95% confidence interval, 0.78 to 1.12; P=0.49). Conclusions: We demonstrated the characteristics and trends of ACS cases in a Japanese population by applying interrupted time series analyses. Our findings provide significant insights into the association between COVID-19 and decreases in ACS hospitalisations during the pandemic

Medium-Term Impact of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic on the Practice of Percutaneous Coronary Interventions in Japan

Aims: Declines in cardiovascular diseases during the first surge of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been reported. With the repeating surges of COVID-19, we aim to investigate the medium-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the practice of percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs). Methods: We performed a descriptive analysis of rates of PCIs, utilizing administrative data in Japan. Changes in the proportion of severe cases and in-hospital mortality since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic were investigated using interrupted time series (ITS) analyses. Results: From April 2018 to February 2021, 38, 696 and 28, 585 cases of elective and emergency PCIs, respectively, were identified. The rates of PCIs decreased during the first and third COVID-19 surges. The ratios of monthly rates of elective PCIs to that in the corresponding months during the previous 2 years were 50.3% in May 2020 and 76.1% in January 2021. The decrease in rates of emergency PCIs was smaller than that of elective PCIs. The ITS analyses did not identify any significant changes in the proportion of severe cases and in-hospital mortality. Conclusions: We found that the impacts of COVID-19 on PCIs were larger in the first surge than in the subsequent and larger in the elective than in the emergency; this continued over the medium-term. During the COVID-19 pandemic, in-hospital mortality of cases undertaking emergency PCIs did not change