Language Contact with Crew of Rykyu\u27s Drifting Ships in the Qing Dynasty

The communication between Ryukyu・Okinawa and China has a long history. It has been said that the history has begun even at Ming Dynasty Ryukyu Dynasty were canonized by Chinese king even after Satsuma clan (now Kagoshima Prefecture)\u27s invasion in the beginning of 17 century. The tributary relations between Ryukyu and China had last for 5 centuries until Ryukyu became Okinawa Prefecture by Meiji Japanese government in 1872. The relationship between China and Ryukyu basic were tributary relations. However, the main transportation mean in Ryukyu were by ship，and lots of ship encountered typhoon, lost control of their ship，and finally were drifted to China continent. You can refer to these historical documentation in the book「Selected documentation of China-Ryukyurelations in Qing Dynasty」which was public by China First Historical Archives. Lots of ship-drift cases are written in this book from Qianlong era to Guangxu era of Qing Dynasty. Various forms of transportation can be found form those cases. This paper will not focus on tributary ships from Ryukyu, but on the part of rescue and aid from Qing government to those who were drifted from Ryukyu．文部科学省グローバルCOEプログラム 関西大学文化交渉学教育研究拠点東アジアの歴史と動

Metastable phases and "metastable" phase diagrams

The work discusses specifics of phase transitions for metastable states of substances. The objects of condensed media physics are primarily equilibrium states of substances with metastable phases viewed as an exception, while the overwhelming majority of organic substances investigated in chemistry are metastable. It turns out that at normal pressure many of simple molecular compounds based on light elements (these include: most hydrocarbons; nitrogen oxides, hydrates, and carbides; carbon oxide (CO); alcohols, glycerin etc) are metastable substances too, i.e. they do not match the Gibbs' free energy minimum for a given chemical composition. At moderate temperatures and pressures, the phase transitions for given metastable phases throughout the entire experimentally accessible time range are reversible with the equilibrium thermodynamics laws obeyed. At sufficiently high pressures (1-10 GPa), most of molecular phases irreversibly transform to more energy efficient polymerized phases, both stable and metastable. These transformations are not consistent with the equality of the Gibbs' free energies between the phases before and after the transition, i.e. they are not phase transitions in "classical" meaning. The resulting polymeric phases at normal pressure can exist at temperatures above the melting one for the initial metastable molecular phase. Striking examples of such polymers are polyethylene and a polymerized modification of CO. Many of energy-intermediate polymeric phases can apparently be synthesized by the "classical" chemistry techniques at normal pressure.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Extracellular calcium reduction strongly increases the lytic capacity of pneumolysin from streptococcus pneumoniae in brain tissue

Background. Streptococcus pneumoniae causes serious diseases such as pneumonia and meningitis. Its major pathogenic factor is the cholesterol-dependent cytolysin pneumolysin, which produces lytic pores at high concentrations. At low concentrations, it has other effects, including induction of apoptosis. Many cellular effects of pneumolysin appear to be calcium dependent. Methods. Live imaging of primary mouse astroglia exposed to sublytic amounts of pneumolysin at various concentrations of extracellular calcium was used to measure changes in cellular permeability (as judged by lactate dehydrogenase release and propidium iodide chromatin staining). Individual pore properties were analyzed by conductance across artificial lipid bilayer. Tissue toxicity was studied in continuously oxygenated acute brain slices. Results. The reduction of extracellular calcium increased the lytic capacity of the toxin due to increased membrane binding. Reduction of calcium did not influence the conductance properties of individual toxin pores. In acute cortical brain slices, the reduction of extracellular calcium from 2 to 1 mM conferred lytic activity to pathophysiologically relevant nonlytic concentrations of pneumolysin. Conclusions. Reduction of extracellular calcium strongly enhanced the lytic capacity of pneumolysin due to increased membrane binding. Thus, extracellular calcium concentration should be considered as a factor of primary importance for the course of pneumococcal meningitis

Neutral-ionic phase transition : a thorough ab-initio study of TTF-CA

The prototype compound for the neutral-ionic phase transition, namely TTF-CA, is theoretically investigated by first-principles density functional theory calculations. The study is based on three neutron diffraction structures collected at 40, 90 and 300 K (Le Cointe et al., Phys. Rev. B 51, 3374 (1995)). By means of a topological analysis of the total charge densities, we provide a very precise picture of intra and inter-chain interactions. Moreover, our calculations reveal that the thermal lattice contraction reduces the indirect band gap of this organic semi-conductor in the neutral phase, and nearly closes it in the vicinity of the transition temperature. A possible mechanism of the neutral-ionic phase transition is discussed. The charge transfer from TTF to CA is also derived by using three different technics.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures, 7 table

Effects of blockade of hyperpolarization-activated ion currents (Ih) on autonomic control of the heart in rats: Age-related peculiarities

In our experiments, we studied the effects of intravenous introduction of ZD7288, a selective blocker of the currents activated by hyperpolarization (Ih), on the cardial activity of 1- and 3-week-old and young adult (20-week-old) rats. Introduction of the blocker caused a dose-dependent decrease in the heart rate (HR) in all age groups. A maximum and a minimum expression of bradycardia were observed in 1- and 3-week-old rats, respectively. Stimulation of the n. vagus against the background of bradycardia that developed after the blockade of Ih led to a further drop in the HR. In this case, the expression of the effect of stimulation of the n. vagus depended on the dose of the introduced blocker. The blockade of Ih influenced the cardial reaction to introduction of an agonist of β-adrenoreceptors, isoproterenol, in rats of early age and young adult rats, but not in 3-week-old rats. Therefore, the blockade of Ih changes the reaction of the heart on sympathetic and parasympathetic regulatory influences, and the expression of these changes significantly depends on the animal's age. This allows us to conclude that not only the pacemaker activity of cardiomyocytes per se but also autonomic modulation of the cardial activity demonstrate a significant dependence on the function of hyperpolarization-activated ionic channels; this function is characterized by substantial age-related peculiarities. © 2003 Plenum Publishing Corporation

Age-related peculiarities of the effect of α-adrenoceptor blockade on cardiac function in rats

Blockade of α1-adrenoreceptors with prazosin produces bradycardia. The degree of this bradycardia in rats depends on age. In adult (20-week-old) rats bradycardia is pronounced, in 3-week-old rats it is insignificant, and in 1-week-old rats bradycardia does not develop. Prazosin moderates bradycardia induced by vagal stimulation in rats of different age

Age-related peculiarities of inotropic response of rat myocardium to selective block of M1-cholinoreceptors

In vitro effect of M1-cholinoreceptor blockade on the cardiac inotropic function was examined in rats aging 1, 3, 6, 8, and 20 weeks. In 1- and 3-week old rat pups, the sympathetic control of the heart has not developed, the age of 7-8 weeks being pubertal. Adult 20-week rats were used as the controls. In rats of all age groups, preliminary blockade of M1-cholinoreceptors did not prevent the inhibitory effect of carbacholine on contractility of the atrial and ventricular myocardium. The inhibitory effect of pirenzepine on the contractile force of ventricular myocardium was revealed in 6-week rats. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York

Intangible Assets – Influence on the “Return On Equity” (S&P100 Index)

In the 21st century, the most valuable strategic resources for business enterprises will no longer be physical assets such as land and machines, but rather intangible assets (IA) such as knowledge, patents, and intellectual property rights. This study aims to analyze the effect of IA (exclusively those that are recognized and shown in the balance sheet) on the return on equity (ROE). In order to analyze the influence of IA on ROE, the study used components of the Standard and Poor 100 Index (S&P100). Due to some research restrictions, 68 companies were selected as the study’s sample. The research results were obtained using the Ordinary Least Square (OLS) method. According to our findings, the influence of IA on ROE is approximately 34% excluding goodwill and 31% including goodwill.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Selective blockade of α<inf>2</inf>-adrenoceptor subtypes modulates contractility of rat myocardium

© 2016 Springer Science+Business Media New York.The study examined the dose-dependent effects of selective antagonists of α2A/D-, α2B-, and α2C-adrenoceptors applied in concentrations of 10-9-10-5 M on atrial and ventricular contractility of rat myocardium in vitro. Selective blockade of each α2-adrenoceptor subtype affected the contractile force of the atrial and ventricular strips. Various concentrations of α2A/D-and α2C-adrenoceptor antagonists produced positive inotropic effect on ventricular strips and negative effect on atrial strips. α2B-Adrenoceptor blocker in the majority of the tested concentrations produced a positive inotropic effect in both atria and ventricles