HAND PROPULSION TECHNIQUE OF SKILLED SPRINT SWIMMERS

This study investigated the technique of skilled sprint front-crawl swimmers in terms of the exertion of hand propulsive forces quantified by the dynamic pressure approach. Four skilled sprint front-crawl swimmers, who can swim a 100 m in less than 49 seconds, swam at a 25 m swimming pool where a motion capture system for above and under water was set up. Pressure sensors were attached on the hand to estimate hydrodynamic forces acting on the hand. The mean propulsions in the downsweep, insweep, and upsweep were 26 ± 4 N, 57 ± 12 N, and 46 ± 9 N, respectively. The four swimmers used propulsive lift of 36 ± 6 N in the downsweep, propulsive drag of 40 ± 7 N in the insweep, and propulsive drag and lift of 25 ± 9 N and 21 ± 10 N in the upsweep while swimming at their race pace

Study on resist performance of chemically amplified molecular resists based on cyclic oligomers

Novel resist materials are required for lithographic processing with ionization radiation such as extreme ultraviolet (EUV) and electron beam (EB) exposure tools. In this study, we synthesized positive-tone chemically amplified molecular resist materials with pendant adamantyl ester (AD) and cyclohexyl 2-propyl ether moieties based on cyclic oligomers such as noria, calixarene dimer, cyclodextrin, and pillar arene, and we examined the lithographic performances of sensitivity, etching durability, and patterning under EUV and EB exposure. We clarified that the sensitivity of the resist materials was consistent with the structure of the cyclic oligomers, i.e., the hole size of the molecular structure might be an important factor relevant to high-resolution resist materials. We found that chemically amplified molecular resists based on cyclic oligomers such as noria, calixarene dimer, cyclodextrin, and pillar arene are promising candidates for higher-resolution resist materials

Recent advances in radiotracers targeting norepinephrine transporter: structural development and radiolabeling improvements

The norepinephrine transporter (NET) is a major target for the evaluation of the cardiac sympathetic nerve system in patients with heart failure and Parkinson's disease. It is also used in the therapeutic applications against certain types of neuroendocrine tumors, as exemplified by the clinically used 123/131I-MIBG as theranostic single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) agent. With the development of more advanced positron emission tomography (PET) technology, more radiotracers targeting NET have been reported, with superior temporal and spatial resolutions, along with the possibility of functional and kinetic analysis. More recently, fluorine-18-labelled NET tracers have drawn increasing attentions from researchers, due to their longer radiological half-life relative to carbon-11 (110 min vs. 20 min), reduced dependence on on-site cyclotrons, and flexibility in the design of novel tracer structures. In the heart, certain NET tracers provide integral diagnostic information on sympathetic innervation and the nerve status. In the central nervous system, such radiotracers can reveal NET distribution and density in pathological conditions. Most radiotracers targeting cardiac NET-function for the cardiac application consistent of derivatives of either norepinephrine or MIBG with its benzylguanidine core structure, e.g. 11C-HED and 18F-LMI1195. In contrast, all NET tracers used in central nervous system applications are derived from clinically used antidepressants. Lastly, possible applications of NET as selective tracers over organic cation transporters (OCTs) in the kidneys and other organs controlled by sympathetic nervous system will also be discussed

Effect of Suplatast Tosilate on Antileukotriene Non-Responders with Mild-to-Moderate Persistent Asthma

ABSTRACTBackgroundImmunomodulatory therapy has been recently introduced for the management of asthma. Suplatast tosilate (ST), a new immune-modifying drug, is known to improve the airway function by inhibiting the release of Th-2 cytokines. However, its efficacy as a controller listed in the guideline, Global Initiative for Asthma 2005 has not been established. In this study we investigated the role of ST in leukotriene receptor antagonist (LTRA) non-responders with mild-to-moderate persistent asthma before initiating corticosteroids inhalation therapy.MethodsThis was a prospective open-level clinical trial. LTRAs was given to 41 patients with asthma for 4 weeks and clinical efficacy was assessed using daily symptom scores. The 10 patients, aged 2.5-8.5 years, who failed to show clinical improvement, were defined as LTRA non-responders. After a 1-week washout period, the efficacy of ST was investigated and compared with LTRA non-responders for the following 4 weeks.ResultsLTRA non-responders showed a significant improvement in the average symptom score, peak expiratory flow, use of rescue medication and the proportion of symptom-free days with ST therapy.ConclusionsST is a good choice for patients who have failed to respond to LTRAs. ST should therefore be added to the list of treatment options for such patients

Theory of coevolution of cytoplasmic male-sterility, nuclear restorer and selfing

Gynodioecy is a sexual polymorphism in angiosperms, where hermaphroditic and female individuals coexist. This is often caused by a cytoplasmic genetic element (CGE) that destroys male functions, which is called cytoplasmic male-sterility (CMS). On the other hand, nuclear genes tend to evolve the ability to restore male function. The coevolutionary process of CMS and the restoration has been studied theoretically. Recently, a theoretical study suggested that these coevolutionary dynamics could be influenced by the rate of selfing within populations, although it assumed that the selfing rate of a population was a fixed parameter. Accordingly, we theoretically study the coevolution of three traits in this paper: CMS, nuclear restorer and selfing rate, in which we hypothesize that selfing evolution can suppress CMS evolution under some conditions. The analysis indicates three significant properties of the system; (1) CMS-restorer evolution can result in bistability under a given selfing rate, (2) the coevolution of three traits can realize intermediate levels of selfing, and (3) the evolution of high levels of selfing is conditionally associated with no CMS and/or no restoration, which may support our hypothesis

Synthesis and Resist Properties of Calixarene Polymers with Pendant Haloalkyl Groups

We examined the condensation polymerization of t-butylcalix[8]arene (BCA[8]), p-t-butylcalix[4]arene (BCA[4]), and C-(4-t-butylbenz)calix[4]resorcinarene (BCRA[4]) with 1,3-adamantane dibromoacetate (ADB), yielding soluble polymers poly(BCA[8]-co-ADB), poly(BCA[4]-co-ADB), and poly(BCRA[4]-co-ADB), respectively. These polymers had good solubility, good film forming ability, and good thermal stability. It was anticipated that these polymers were applicable to positive-type resist materials. However, by the examination on the resist sensitivity using EUV exposure system, these polymers were applicable to negative type resist materials using THF as a developer. Furthermore, a negative clear resist pattern with 100nm resolution could be obtained by EB exposure system. These results indicated that poly(BCA[8]-co-ADB) and poly(BCRA[4]-co-ADB) have high potential to offer higher resolution negative pattern using EUV lithography system

Clinical Study Relationship of Inflammatory Biomarkers with Severity of Peripheral Arterial Disease

Objective. The pentraxin family, including high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), serum amyloid P (SAP), and pentraxin 3 (PTX3), has been identified as playing a key role in inflammatory reactions such as in atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. In this study, we examined the relationship between peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and serum levels of pentraxins. Methods. This study was undertaken via a retrospective review of PAD patients with surgical intervention for lesions of the common femoral artery. We evaluated the preoperative patient conditions, hemodynamic status, such as ankle brachial index (ABI), and clinical ischemic conditions according to Rutherford classification. Preoperatively, we collected blood samples for determining the serum levels of hs-CRP, SAP, and PTX3. Results. Twelve PAD patients with common femoral arterial lesions were treated and examined. The hemodynamic severity of PAD was not negatively correlated with hs-CRP, SAP, or PTX3. The clinical severity evaluated by Rutherford classification was significantly positively correlated with the serum level of PTX3 ( = 0.019). Conclusion. We demonstrated that PTX3 might be a better marker of PAD than hs-CRP and SAP. Furthermore, PTX3 might be a prognostic marker to evaluate the severity of PAD