Aversion of face-to-face situation of pedestrians eases crowding condition

We conducted numerical simulation for a crowd of pedestrians. Each pedestrian, modeled with three circles, has a shape whose long axis is perpendicular to the anteroposterior axis, and is designed to move fixed destination. The pedestrians have friction at the surface and soft repulsion. In this study, we newly introduced an active rotation which captures psychological effect to evade face-to-face situation. The numerical simulation revealed that active rotation induces fluidization of system leading to higher flux of pedestrian. We further confirmed that this fluidization is due to fragmentation of force chain induced by the active rotation.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Image analysis of olfactory responses in the procerebrum of the terrestrial slug Limax marginatus.

Neural oscillations have been found to occur in the olfactory centers of some vertebrates and invertebrates, including the procerebrum of the terrestrial slug Limax marginatus. Using optical recording with the potential-sensitive dye di-4-ANEPPS, we analyzed the spatiotemporal pattern of procerebral neural activities in response to odorants applied to an in vitro brain-superior tentacle preparation. The odor of rat chow, on which the slugs were normally fed, increased the frequency of the oscillation. Garlic odor, which induced aversive behavior in the slug, caused a transient increase in oscillation frequency during stimulation, followed by a second increase in oscillation frequency when the stimulus was terminated. Wave propagation from the distal to the proximal region of the procerebrum was accelerated in parallel with modulation of the frequency. The cycle-by-cycle average of the optical signals showed that a large area of the cerebral ganglia, including the procerebrum, was depolarized during the initial increase in frequency. During the second increase, however, the net depolarization was most prominent in the terminal mass of the procerebrum. These results suggest that the level of depolarization generated by interactions among the neurites projecting to the terminal mass, such as the neurites of the nonbursting neurons, may control neural oscillations in the procerebrum

Electronic structure and cohesive energy of silylmethyl fullerene and methanoindene fullerene solids

Using the density functional theory, we studied the energetics and electronic structures of chemically decorated fullerene solids, monoclinic phases of silylmethyl fullerene (SIMEF) and methanoindene fullerene (MIF), under the experimentally determined lattice parameters. Cohesive energies of these solids are 1.83 and 1.07 eV for SIMEF and MIF, respectively, despite the large intermolecular spacing owing to the functional groups. The SIMEF and MIF solids are semiconductors with a moderate band gap of about 1.2 eV with narrow dispersion band near the band gap. We also elucidated that these solids exhibit a strong anisotropic band dispersion relation near the gap, because of their large asymmetric molecular shape. The calculated electron effective masses range from 1.37m e to 7.91m e for the SIMEF solid and from 0.57m e to 4.23m e for the MIF solid

The four-wavelength Photoacoustic Aerosol Absorption Spectrometer (PAAS-4 λ )

In this paper, the Photoacoustic Aerosol Absorption Spectrometer (PAAS-4λ) is introduced. PAAS-4λ was specifically developed for long-term monitoring tasks in (unattended) air quality stations. It uses four wavelengths coupled to a single acoustic resonator in a compact and robust set-up. The instrument has been thoroughly characterized and carefully calibrated in the laboratory using NO$_2$/air mixtures and Nigrosin aerosol. It has an ultimate 1σ detection limit below 0.1 Mm$^{−1}$, at a measurement precision and accuracy of 3 % and 10 %, respectively. In order to demonstrate the PAAS-4λ suitability for long-term monitoring tasks, the instrument is currently validated at the air quality monitoring station Pallas in Finland, about 140 km north of the Arctic circle. A total of 11 months of PAAS-4λ data from this deployment are presented and discussed in terms of instrument performance. Intercomparisons with the filter-based photometers of a continuous soot monitoring system (COSMOS), the Multi-Angle Absorption Photometer (MAAP), and Aethalometer (AE33) demonstrate the capabilities and value of PAAS-4λ, as well as for the validation of the widely used filter-based instruments

For Vol.70, No.5 pp405-408 A Multicenter, Prospective, Randomized Controlled Trial Evaluating the Efficacy of Rectal Diclofenac and Sublingual Nitrate as a Combined Prophylactic Treatment for Post-ERCP Pancreatitis

In the article by Tomoda T et al. entitled “A Multicenter, Prospective, Randomized Controlled Trial Evaluating the Efficacy of Rectal Diclofenac and Sublingual Nitroglycerin as a Combined Prophylactic Treatment for Post-ERCP Pancreatitis”, which appeared in the October 2016 issue, Vol. 70, No. 5, pp405-408, the word “nitroglycerin” should be corrected to “nitrate” throughout the manuscript

Reduction mammaplasty and mastopexy for the contralateral breast after reconstruction surgery following cancer resection : A report of 3 cases

Background : Breast reconstruction generally involves autologous tissue transplantation and placement of a mammary prosthesis. When the patient’s breasts are extremely large and ptotic, breast reconstruction often results in significantly asymmetrical appearance. However, a good aesthetic outcome after reconstruction surgery following cancer resection is an important quality-of-life factor. We evaluated the efficacy of touch-up surgery, either reduction mammaplasty or mastopexy, performed on the contralateral breast for symmetrization. Methods : Reduction mammaplasty was performed on the contralateral breast in 2 patients and mastopexy was performed on the contralateral breast in 1 patient after reconstruction surgery following cancer resection, between 2008 and 2014. We reviewed each patient’s medical record for general clinical information and for the methods of breast cancer resection and breast reconstruction used, wait time between breast cancer resection and touch-up surgery, preservation of the sensitivity of the nipple-areola complex after the touch-up surgery, and aesthetic outcome (based on visual analog scale score). Results : Wait times in the 3 cases were 4, 9, and 18 months. Nipple-areolar sensitivity was well preserved in all 3 cases. Aesthetic outcomes were judged “excellent” or “very good.” Conclusion : Revision surgery on the contralateral breast 4 to 18 months after breast reconstruction substantially improves the aesthetic outcome