subacute combined spinal cord degeneration

We report a case of subacute combined spinal cord degeneration (SCD) caused by vegetarianism and autoimmune gastritis, which is rarely reported in Japan, and which showed improvement in symptoms and imaging findings after vitamin B12 administration. As delayed treatment can lead to irreversible damage, we suggest that patients with characteristic abnormal signals in the posterior cervical cord should be examined while considering the possibility that SCD may occur even in the absence of a history of gastrectomy or heavy drinking. We also describe the patient’s reversible abnormal signals in the cerebral white matter on magnetic resonance imaging, indicative of an early sign of leukoencephalopathy associated with vitamin B12 deficiency

Combining Experiment and Theory to Elucidate the Role of Supercritical Water in Sulfide Decomposition

The cleavage of C–S linkages plays a key role in fuel processing and organic geochemistry. Water is known to affect these processes, and several hypotheses have been proposed, but the mechanism has been elusive. Here we use both experiment and theory to demonstrate that supercritical water reacts with intermediates formed during alkyl sulfide decomposition. During hexyl sulfide decomposition in supercritical water, pentane and CO + CO2 were detected in addition to the expected six carbon products. A multi-step reaction sequence for hexyl sulfide reacting with supercritical water is proposed which explains the surprising products, and quantum chemical calculations provide quantitative rates that support the proposed mechanism. The key sequence is cleavage of one C–S bond to form a thioaldehyde via radical reactions, followed by a pericyclic addition of water to the CS bond to form a geminal mercaptoalcohol. The mercaptoalcohol decomposes into an aldehyde and H2S either directly or via a water-catalyzed 6-membered ring transition state. The aldehyde quickly decomposes into CO plus pentane by radical reactions. The time is ripe for quantitative modelling of organosulfur reaction kinetics based on modern quantum chemistry

Quantum gapped state in a spin-1/2 distorted honeycomb-based lattice with frustration

We successfully synthesized ($p$-Py-V)[Cu(hfac)$_2$], a verdazyl-based complex. Molecular orbital calculations revealed five types of intermolecular interactions between the radical spins and two types of intramolecular interactions between the radical and the Cu spins, resulting in a spin-1/2 distorted honeycomb-based lattice. Additionally, competing ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic (AF) interactions induce frustration. The magnetization curve displayed a multistage increase, including a zero-field energy gap. Considering the stronger AF interactions that form dimers and tetramers, the magnetic susceptibility and magnetization curves were qualitatively explained. These findings demonstrated that the quantum state, based on the dominant AF interactions, was stabilized due to the effects of frustration in the lattice. Hence, the exchange interactions forming two-dimensional couplings decoupled, reducing energy loss caused by frustration and leading to frustration-induced dimensional reduction.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure

Exertional evaluation for BT

Bronchial thermoplasty (BT) had been reported to improve the symptoms of severe asthma. However, the exertional responses of BT based on the mechanisms have not been elucidated. A 57-year-old man and a 60-year-old woman underwent BT due to intractable severe asthma. We evaluated the therapeutic effects of BT using cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET). After BT, the exercise time during CPET substantially prolonged reducing exertional dyspnea in the former (good), but not in the latter (poor). In the good responder, the high air remaining in the lung after expiration (i.e., inspiratory tidal volume minus expiratory tidal volume) during CPET decreased after BT. In contrast, in the poor responder, the high air remaining after expiration during exercise was not obtained before BT. Further investigations are necessary to confirm that the presence or absence of the exertional wasted ventilation on CPET may be informative to evaluate the therapeutic effects of BT

Field-induced quantum phase in a frustrated zigzag-square lattice

This study presents the experimental realization of a spin-1/2 zigzag-square lattice in a verdazyl-based complex, namely ($m$-Py-V-2,6-F$_2$)$[$Cu(hfac)$_2]$. Molecular orbital calculations suggest the presence of five types of frustrated exchange couplings. Our observations reveal an incremental increase in the magnetization curve beyond a critical field, signifying a phase transition from the antiferromagnetic ordered state to a quantum state characterized by a 1/2 plateau. This intriguing behavior arises from the effective stabilization of a zigzag chain by the external fields. These results provide evidence for field-induced dimensional reduction in a zigzag-square lattice attributed to the effects of frustration.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Characterization of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Virus A(H5N6), Japan, November 2016

Highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses (HPAIVs) A(H5N6) were concurrently introduced into several distant regions of Japan in November 2016. These viruses were classified into the genetic clade 2.3.4.4c and were genetically closely related to H5N6 HPAIVs recently isolated in South Korea and China. In addition, these HPAIVs showed further antigenic drift

A Study on Effective Support of Pre-Service Teachers in Practice Teaching : Focused on Students’ Mathematical Activity in Mathematics Lesson

本研究は，教育実習生の現状を調査し分析することを通して，教育実習における効果的な指導のための知見を得ることを目的としている。教育実習生に対して数学的活動の認識に関するアンケート調査を行い，提出された学習指導案とともに分析することによって，教育実習生が授業を構成する際の困難性について，特に数学的活動の位置付けに焦点を当てて考察を行った。数学学習における数学的活動の意義や現代の社会において求められる教員養成の役割に照らしてみるとき，教育実習においては次のような指導が効果的であることが示唆された。 　①授業の中で位置づけることが可能な数学的活動のタイプを特定させること 　②数学的活動との関わりで学習者の反応を捉えさせること 　③授業の中の情報共有の場面に意味を持たせること 　④教育実習生同士での議論を活性化させることThis study aims to provide suggestions about effective support in practice teaching by analyzing a survey of pre-service teachers. We discussed their difficulties in planning a mathematics lesson from the perspective of the construction of mathematical activities. We surveyed their conception of mathematical activities and analyzed their lesson plans. The results imply effective support is required in practice teaching as below: 1) Specifying possible mathematical activities in mathematics lessons 2) Understanding students’ reactions by referring them to mathematical activities 3) Making some situations of information-sharing meaningful in mathematics lessons 4) Activating the arguments among pre-service teacher

Influenza A (H5N1) Viruses from Pigs, Indonesia

TOC summary: Pigs may serve as intermediate hosts in which this avian virus can adapt to mammals

SCW desulfurization of crude oil

Thesis: Ph. D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Chemical Engineering, 2014.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references.Supercritical Water (SCW) desulfurization was investigated for both model sulfur compounds and Arab Heavy crude. In part 1, the reactions of alkyl sulfides in SCW were studied. During hexyl sulfide decomposition in SCW, pentane and CO+CO₂ were detected in addition to the expected six-carbon products. A multi-step reaction sequence for hexyl sulfide reacting with SCW is proposed which explains the surprising products. Intermediate studies were performed to confirm that the key intermediate hexanal forms and rapidly decomposes to pentane and CO. In part 2, Arab Heavy crude was treated with SCW and analyzed with comprehensive gas chromatography (GCxGC) coupled with two detectors, sulfur chemiluminescence detector (SCD) and a flame ionization detector (FID). SCD is a sulfur specific detector that allowed detailed analysis of the reactions that occur during SCW treatment of real fuel mixtures. It was shown that SCW treatment had two effects on sulfur compounds: cracking of heavy sulfur compounds into smaller compounds, mainly benzothiophenes (BT) and dibenziophenes (DBT), and cracking of long alkyl chains on these BTs and DBTs causing a shift to lower molecular weight BTs and DBTs. SCW was found to be ineffective in breaking the stable aromatic rings of these thiophenic compounds. Work in this thesis shed light into molecular level reactions during SCW treatment rather than changes in bulk properties which are often reported in work in the field of SCW desulfurization.by Yuko Kida.Ph. D

The empirical examination about a gap of the questionnaire method and the drawing method in mother-child relationship <Research Article>

One of the drawing methods is Mother and Child Drawings. This study focused on the gaps between the mother-child relationships measured by a questionnaire and the mother-child relationships interpreted from Mother and Child Drawings, and examined whether these differences were caused by the gaps between the conscious and subconscious attitudes. The results indicated that there was a negative correlation between the score on the Mother and Child Drawings and the stability score on the questionnaire as a general trend of the participants. Moreover, the result showed that the hypothesis was supported for both the congruous and incongruous groups with low rejection scores. It partially supported the notion that the subconscious attitudes could be reflected in Mother and Child Drawings, and that the conscious attitudes could be reflected in the questionnaire