Noncommutative inflation and the large-scale damping in the CMB anisotropy

We show that a certain class of short-distance cutoff can give rise to large suppression on the CMB anisotropies at large angular scales.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures. Fonts changed. Talk given at QTS3 (Cincinnati, OH, Sept. 2003

Parameter Estimation of Unsaturated Soil Hydraulic Properties by Improved Suction Plate Method

The unsaturated soil hydraulic properties are essential data to predict the seepage behavior in the vadose zone. In this paper, a new experimental methodology of determining unsaturated soil hydraulic properties is proposed. The soil hydraulic properties are assumed to be represented by van Genuchten's closed-form expressions. Unknown parameters of this model are identified by using a optimization techniques. The optimization approach is nonlinear least-squares algorithm in corporating finite element analysis of one-dimensional nonsteady seepage flow. The advantages of the methods are in the possibility of identifying the optimal unsaturated soil hydraulic properties and diminishing experimental time. To evaluate availability of our proposed method, experimental results which are determined by proposed methods and conventional method are compared for decomposed granite soil

Determining Hydraulic Properties of Multilayered Aquifers from Pumping Test Data by Parameter Estimation

In this paper, a numerical procedure of determining hydraulic properties in multilayered aquifers are presented. From pumping test data in multilayered aquifers, the coefficient of permeability and specific storage for each aquifer are determined by using a combination of finite element analysis and nonlinear least-squares optimization technique. This study especially points out necessity of stress-flow coupling analysis to explain the behaviors of pressure head in multilayered aquifer during pumping test. As a example, practical pumping test data were evaluate and the coefficients of permeability and specific storage of aquifers and aquitard were obtained

Antibody responses in chickens experimentally infected with low and high passaged chicken anemia virus isolates

It has been shown that chicken anemia virus (CAV) which had undergone 60 and 123 passages in cell cultures (SMSC-1IP60, SMSC-I/P123, 3-1IP60 and 3-l/P123) were less pathogenic compared to low passaged CAY (SMSC- 1 and 3-1) isolates. In this study, the ability of the isolates to induce antibody responses was studied using enzymelinked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). All the isolates regardless of the number of cell culture passages that they had undergone elicited CAY antibody responses both at 16 and 30 days post inoculation. A CAY isolate, BL-5 that was not passaged in cell culture elicited higher antibody response than the cell culture passaged isolates. However, the differences in the average ELISA titres and the percentage of positive sera between the isolates were not statistically significant (P>0.05). The study showed that CAY isolates which had undergone repeated passages in cell culture are still immunogeni

A Comparison of Gastric Cancer Surgery Between Japan and China

Background: The differences in gastric cancer between East and West have been frequently discussed. However, there are few studies that have compared Japan and China in Asia. Methods: Patient characteristics, surgical procedures and pathologic information were compared among gastric cancer patients who underwent curative-intent gastrectomy at two large volume cancer centers in China and Japan. Results: The median age of Japanese patients is 70 years, seven years older than those in China, and more than 25% of Japanese patients were older than 75. In China, the tumor was thicker, and lymph node metastasis was frequently observed. Total gastrectomy was more common in China (35.6% vs 21.9%). Distal gastrectomy rate was 56.0 percent in Japan, compared to 42.2 percent in China. The proportion of patients undergoing proximal gastrectomy was almost equal in China and Japan. Further analysis of the characteristics of patients undergoing total gastrectomy revealed that in China, more advanced gastric cancer patients with larger tumors and more lymph node metastasis underwent total gastrectomy, while in Japan, more early stage gastric cancer patients underwent total gastrectomy. Conclusion: There are some differences in gastric cancer between Japan and China. China needs to learn from Japan by establishing some screening programs for the diagnosis and treatment of early gastric cancer

Training - A Strategic HRM Function

People are the most important and valuable resources every organization has in the form of its employees. There is a realization that people sub system is a critical dimension in organizational effectiveness. Training is an important and integral part of HRD and is crucial to organizational effectiveness. Many organizations appreciate the value of adequate, consistent and long term investment in such functions. Training helps employees to prepare for change to face the challenges. Training helps individual to acquire competencies necessary to achieve organizational objectives. Every organization wants to prosper and grows. New materials, new products, new systems and techniques and above all new and constantly increasing customer expectations means that people have to learn. Training improves the capability of an organization. So training plays an important role in the effectiveness of people at work. Training has implication for productivity, health and safety at work and personal development

日本の伝統的な漢方薬である大建中湯は推進性の運動パターンを誘導することにより結腸輸送を促進する

Background: The traditional Japanese herbal medicine, daikenchuto (DKT), has been used to treat constipation and postoperative ileus. However, the precise mechanisms involved in the pharmacological effects of DKT remain uncertain. The aim of this study was to clarify the effect of DKT on motor patterns and transit activity in the isolated rat colon. Methods: The entire colon or segments of the proximal colon in rats were isolated and placed in Krebs solution. The motility of the colon was evaluated by analyzing spatiotemporal maps of diameter derived from video imaging and measuring the intraluminal pressure in the anal end of the proximal colon, and the transit time of a plastic bead through the entire isolated colon. Key Results: Several types of propagating contractions were observed in the isolated entire colon. When DKT was added to Krebs solution, the frequency of large‐extent anal propagating contractions increased. DKT treatment increased the intraluminal pressure in the isolated proximal colon, which was related to the propagating contractions. This effect was abolished by treatment with the neural blocker tetrodotoxin. These findings suggest DKT induced peristaltic contractions in the isolated colon. DKT accelerated colonic transit activity, which was related to peristaltic contractions induction in the colon. These effects were also observed in the colons treated with bethanechol and the active ingredient of DKT, hydroxy‐α‐sanshool. Conclusions and Inferences: Daikenchuto could enhance colonic transit activity by inducing peristaltic contractions, which may be mediated by the activation of the enteric nervous system in the colon

Prediction of stroke patients’ bedroom-stay duration: machine-learning approach using wearable sensor data

Background: The importance of being physically active and avoiding staying in bed has been recognized in stroke rehabilitation. However, studies have pointed out that stroke patients admitted to rehabilitation units often spend most of their day immobile and inactive, with limited opportunities for activity outside their bedrooms. To address this issue, it is necessary to record the duration of stroke patients staying in their bedrooms, but it is impractical for medical providers to do this manually during their daily work of providing care. Although an automated approach using wearable devices and access points is more practical, implementing these access points into medical facilities is costly. However, when combined with machine learning, predicting the duration of stroke patients staying in their bedrooms is possible with reduced cost. We assessed using machine learning to estimate bedroom-stay duration using activity data recorded with wearable devices.Method: We recruited 99 stroke hemiparesis inpatients and conducted 343 measurements. Data on electrocardiograms and chest acceleration were measured using a wearable device, and the location name of the access point that detected the signal of the device was recorded. We first investigated the correlation between bedroom-stay duration measured from the access point as the objective variable and activity data measured with a wearable device and demographic information as explanatory variables. To evaluate the duration predictability, we then compared machine-learning models commonly used in medical studies.Results: We conducted 228 measurements that surpassed a 90% data-acquisition rate using Bluetooth Low Energy. Among the explanatory variables, the period spent reclining and sitting/standing were correlated with bedroom-stay duration (Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient (R) of 0.56 and −0.52, p < 0.001). Interestingly, the sum of the motor and cognitive categories of the functional independence measure, clinical indicators of the abilities of stroke patients, lacked correlation. The correlation between the actual bedroom-stay duration and predicted one using machine-learning models resulted in an R of 0.72 and p < 0.001, suggesting the possibility of predicting bedroom-stay duration from activity data and demographics.Conclusion: Wearable devices, coupled with machine learning, can predict the duration of patients staying in their bedrooms. Once trained, the machine-learning model can predict without continuously tracking the actual location, enabling more cost-effective and privacy-centric future measurements