Slow quench dynamics of the Kitaev model: anisotropic critical point and effect of disorder

We study the non-equilibrium slow dynamics for the Kitaev model both in the presence and the absence of disorder. For the case without disorder, we demonstrate, via an exact solution, that the model provides an example of a system with an anisotropic critical point and exhibits unusual scaling of defect density $n$ and residual energy $Q$ for a slow linear quench. We provide a general expression for the scaling of $n$ ($Q$) generated during a slow power-law dynamics, characterized by a rate $\tau^{-1}$ and exponent $\alpha$, from a gapped phase to an anisotropic quantum critical point in $d$ dimensions, for which the energy gap $\Delta_{\vec k} \sim k_i^z$ for $m$ momentum components ($i=1..m$) and $\sim k_i^{z'}$ for the rest $d-m$ components ($i=m+1..d$) with $z\le z'$: $n \sim \tau^{-[m + (d-m)z/z']\nu \alpha/(z\nu \alpha +1)}$ ($Q \sim \tau^{-[(m+z)+ (d-m)z/z']\nu \alpha/(z\nu \alpha +1)}$). These general expressions reproduce both the corresponding results for the Kitaev model as a special case for $d=z'=2$ and $m=z=\nu=1$ and the well-known scaling laws of $n$ and $Q$ for isotropic critical points for $z=z'$. We also present an exact computation of all non-zero, independent, multispin correlation functions of the Kitaev model for such a quench and discuss their spatial dependence. For the disordered Kitaev model, where the disorder is introduced via random choice of the link variables $D_n$ in the model's Fermionic representation, we find that $n \sim \tau^{-1/2}$ and $Q\sim \tau^{-1}$ ($Q\sim \tau^{-1/2}$) for a slow linear quench ending in the gapless (gapped) phase. We provide a qualitative explanation of such scaling.Comment: 10 pages, 11 Figs. v

Two Cases of Retroperitoneal Liposarcoma Diagnosed Using Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided Fine-Needle Aspiration (EUS-FNA)

This report describes our experience with two cases that were ultimately diagnosed as retroperitoneal liposarcoma using endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA). Case 1 is that of a 54-year-old woman with chief complaints of nausea and abdominal distention. Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a large (15 cm diameter) tumor, which was significantly compressing the stomach and apparently occupied the entire left abdominal cavity. Although advanced primary gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) or retroperitoneal tumor was inferred as the differential diagnosis, a definitive diagnosis was difficult using imaging alone. After EUS-FNA was done, the tumor was diagnosed histopathologically as high-grade liposarcoma. Case 2 is that of a 73-year-old man. Abdominal ultrasonography and CT showed a 6 cm diameter tumor within the pelvic cavity. The tumor had high MRI signal-intensity on both T1 and T2 images. Endorectal EUS showed a hyperechoic mass. The images suggested lipoma or liposarcoma containing lipoma-like components. Myxoid liposarcoma was revealed by subsequent EUS-FNA. Performing EUS-FNA was clinically useful for determining the subsequent therapeutic strategy in these cases where a tumor of unknown origin existed in the retroperitoneum

Association between social relationship and glycemic control among older Japanese: JAGES cross-sectional study

AIM: The present study examined whether social support, informal socializing and social participation are associated with glycemic control in older people. METHODS: Data for this population-based cross-sectional study was obtained from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES) 2010 linked to the annual health check-up data in Japan. We analyzed 9,554 individuals aged ≥65 years without the certification of needed long-term care. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to assess the effect of social support, informal socializing and social participations on glycemic control. The outcome measure was HbA1c ≥8.4%. RESULTS: 1.3% of the participants had a level of HbA1c over 8.4%. Better glycemic control was significantly associated with meeting with friends one to four times per month (odds ratio [OR] 0.51, 95% confidence interval [CI]0.30-0.89, compared to meeting with friends a few times per year or less) and participation in sports groups (OR 0.50, 95% CI 0.26-0.97) even after adjusting for other variables. Meeting with friends more than twice per week, receiving social support, and being married were not associated with better control of diabetes. CONCLUSIONS: Meeting with friends occasionally is associated with better glycemic control among older people

Tear secretion dysfunction among women workers engaged in light-on tests in the TFT-LCD industry

BACKGROUND: The TFT-LCD (thin film transistor liquid crystal display) industry is rapidly growing in Taiwan and many other countries. A large number of workers, mainly women, are employed in the light-on test process to detect the defects of products. At the light-on test workstation, the operator is generally exposed to low humidity (in the clean room environment), flashing light, and low ambient illumination for long working hours. Many workers complained about eye discomfort, and therefore we conducted a study to evaluate the tear secretion function of light-on test workers of a TFT-LCD company. METHODS: We recruited workers engaged in light-on tests in the company during their periodical health examination. In addition to a questionnaire survey of demographic characteristics and ophthalmic symptoms, we evaluated the tear secretion function of both eyes of each participant using the Schirmer's lacrimal basal secretion test with anaesthesia. A participant with one or both eyes yielding abnormal test results was defined as a case of tear secretion dysfunction. RESULTS: During the study period, a total of 371 light-on test workers received the health examination at the clinic of the park, and 52 of them were excluded due to having ophthalmic diseases and other systemic diseases that may affect ophthalmic function. All the remaining 319 qualified workers agreed to participate in this study, and they were all females working by 4-shift rotations. The average age was 24.2 years old (standard deviation [SD] = 3.8), and the average employment duration was 13.6 months (SD = 5.7). Among the 11 ophthalmic symptoms evaluated, eye dryness was the most prevalent (prevalence = 43.3%). In addition, the prevalence of tear secretion dysfunction in at least one eye was 40.1% (128 cases), and contact lens users had an odds ratio of 1.73 (95% confidence interval = 1.02–2.94) in comparison with non-contact lens users. Comparing the Schirmer's test results of those who also participated in the screening in the previous year, we found 40 of the 156 participants (17.2%) with normal test results in the previous year turned abnormal in 2001. In contrast, only 21 of the 76 participants (9.1%) with abnormal test results in the previous year turned normal, and the difference was statistically significant (p = 0.02 for McNemar's test). CONCLUSION: The prevalence of tear secretion dysfunction in woman workers engaged in light-on tests is high and increases with a one-year duration of employment. The use of contact lens may further increase the risk

Daily Rhythms of Plasma Melatonin, but Not Plasma Leptin or Leptin mRNA, Vary between Lean, Obese and Type 2 Diabetic Men

Melatonin and leptin exhibit daily rhythms that may contribute towards changes in metabolic physiology. It remains unclear, however, whether this rhythmicity is altered in obesity or type 2 diabetes (T2DM). We tested the hypothesis that 24-hour profiles of melatonin, leptin and leptin mRNA are altered by metabolic status in laboratory conditions. Men between 45–65 years old were recruited into lean, obese-non-diabetic or obese-T2DM groups. Volunteers followed strict sleep-wake and dietary regimes for 1 week before the laboratory study. They were then maintained in controlled light-dark conditions, semi-recumbent posture and fed hourly iso-energetic drinks during wake periods. Hourly blood samples were collected for hormone analysis. Subcutaneous adipose biopsies were collected 6-hourly for gene expression analysis. Although there was no effect of subject group on the timing of dim light melatonin onset (DLMO), nocturnal plasma melatonin concentration was significantly higher in obese-non-diabetic subjects compared to weight-matched T2DM subjects (p<0.01) and lean controls (p<0.05). Two T2DM subjects failed to produce any detectable melatonin, although did exhibit plasma cortisol rhythms comparable to others in the group. Consistent with the literature, there was a significant (p<0.001) effect of subject group on absolute plasma leptin concentration and, when expressed relative to an individual’s 24-hour mean, plasma leptin showed significant (p<0.001) diurnal variation. However, there was no difference in amplitude or timing of leptin rhythms between experimental groups. There was also no significant effect of time on leptin mRNA expression. Despite an overall effect (p<0.05) of experimental group, post-hoc analysis revealed no significant pair-wise effects of group on leptin mRNA expression. Altered plasma melatonin rhythms in weight-matched T2DM and non-diabetic individuals supports a possible role of melatonin in T2DM aetiology. However, neither obesity nor T2DM changed 24-hour rhythms of plasma leptin relative to cycle mean, or expression of subcutaneous adipose leptin gene expression, compared with lean subjects

Genome-Wide Gene Expression Analysis Suggests an Important Role of Suppressed Immunity in Pathogenesis of Kashin-Beck Disease

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the differences between the gene expression profiles in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from normal controls and patients with Kashin-Beck disease (KBD). METHODS: Twenty KBD patients and 12 normal subjects were selected from a KBD-endemic area and divided into four pairs of KBD vs. control (KBD, n = 5 per pair; control, n = 3 per pair). RNAs were respectively isolated from KBD PBMCs and normal PBMCs. Gene expression profiles were analyzed by oligonucleotide microarray. The gene expression profiles in PBMCs from KBD patients and normal controls were compared and the differentially expressed genes were identified. The obtained microarray data was further confirmed by using quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). RESULTS: Approximately 501 genes, corresponding to 2.4% of the total probe transcripts, showed a 2-fold change in differential expression. 19.4% (97 out of 501)of the differentially expressed genes were commonly detected in all the four pairs. Among the 97 differentially expressed genes, 83 genes were up-regulated and 14 genes were down-regulated, compared with those in the normal controls. Some differentially expressed genes were found to be related to functions such as immunity, metabolism, apoptosis, cystoskeleton and cell movement, and extracellular matrix. The validity of our microarray data were supported by the results of qRT-PCR assay. CONCLUSION: Differences in the PBMC gene expression profile between the KBD patients and the normal controls exhibited a similar pattern among all the four pairs of microarrays examined, indicating that the suppressed immunity may play an important role in the pathogenesis of KBD

Research on the Stability of a Rabbit Dry Eye Model Induced by Topical Application of the Preservative Benzalkonium Chloride

Dry eye is a common disease worldwide, and animal models are critical for the study of it. At present, there is no research about the stability of the extant animal models, which may have negative implications for previous dry eye studies. In this study, we observed the stability of a rabbit dry eye model induced by the topical benzalkonium chloride (BAC) and determined the valid time of this model.). Decreased levels of mucin-5 subtype AC (MUC5AC), along with histopathological and ultrastructural disorders of the cornea and conjunctiva could be observed in Group BAC-W4 and particularly in Group BAC-W5 until day 21.A stable rabbit dry eye model was induced by topical 0.1% BAC for 5 weeks, and after BAC removal, the signs of dry eye were sustained for 2 weeks (for the mixed type of dry eye) or for at least 3 weeks (for mucin-deficient dry eye)

Serum albumin levels and economic status in Japanese older adults

Background: Low serum albumin levels are associated with aging and medical conditions such as cancer, liver dysfunction, inflammation, and malnutrition and might be an independent predictor of long-term mortality in healthy older populations. We tested the hypothesis that economic status is associated with serum albumin levels and explained by nutritional and health status in Japanese older adults. Design: We performed a cross-sectional analysis using data from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation study (JAGES). The study participants were 6528 functionally independent residents (3189 men and 3339 women) aged ≥65 years living in four municipalities in Aichi prefecture. We used household income as an indicator of economic status. Multiple linear regression was used to compare serum albumin levels in relation to household income, which was classified as low, middle, and high. Additionally, mediation by nutritional and health-related factors was analyzed in multivariable models. Results: With the middle-income group as reference, participants with low incomes had a significantly lower serum albumin level, even after adjustment for sex, age, residential area, education, marital status, and household structure. The estimated mean difference was -0.17 g/L (95% confidence interval, -0.33 to -0.01 g/L). The relation between serum albumin level and low income became statistically insignificant when "body mass index", "consumption of meat or fish", "self-rated health", "presence of medical conditions", "hyperlipidemia", or "respiratory disease "was included in the model. Conclusion: Serum albumin levels were lower in Japanese older adults with low economic status. The decrease in albumin levels appears to be mediated by nutrition and health-related factors with low household incomes. Future studies are needed to reveal the existence of other pathways

CVIT expert consensus document on primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in 2018

While primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has significantly contributed to improve the mortality in patients with ST segment elevation myocardial infarction even in cardiogenic shock, primary PCI is a standard of care in most of Japanese institutions. Whereas there are high numbers of available facilities providing primary PCI in Japan, there are no clear guidelines focusing on procedural aspect of the standardized care. Whilst updated guidelines for the management of acute myocardial infarction were recently published by European Society of Cardiology, the following major changes are indicated; (1) radial access and drug-eluting stent over bare metal stent were recommended as Class I indication, and (2) complete revascularization before hospital discharge (either immediate or staged) is now considered as Class IIa recommendation. Although the primary PCI is consistently recommended in recent and previous guidelines, the device lag from Europe, the frequent usage of coronary imaging modalities in Japan, and the difference in available medical therapy or mechanical support may prevent direct application of European guidelines to Japanese population. The Task Force on Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention of the Japanese Association of Cardiovascular Intervention and Therapeutics (CVIT) has now proposed the expert consensus document for the management of acute myocardial infarction focusing on procedural aspect of primary PCI