Mineralogy of Yamato 983885 lunar polymict breccia with a KREEP basalt,a high-Al basalt, a very low-Ti basalt and Mg-rich rocks

Y983885 is a polymict regolith breccia with a KREEP basalt, Mg-rich troctolite/norite, a high-Al basalt, a very low-Ti basalt, a granulite originated from ferroan anorthosite, and Si, Na-rich impact spherules. An igneous KREEP basalt is first reported among lunar meteorites to date. The KREEP basalt is mineralogically distinct from Apollo KREEP basalts due to the lack of the typical Ca zoning from orthopyroxene to pigeonite, instead, the presence of the co-existing pigeonite/augite with chemical zonings and micron-scale exsolution. With these mineral characteristics, the KREEP basalt is probably cooled slightly slower than the Apollo KREEP basalts under the subsurface condition such as hypabyssal setting or lava pond. Further study of the additional samples is necessary to fully understand the petrogenesis of this new KREEP basalt. The troctolite and norite are also distinct in lower mg# of mafic minerals and higher modal abundance of olivine in norite, comparing to Apollo troctolites and norites, implying the existence of a rock type with intermediate modal abundance between norite and troctolite, and the compositional diversity of Mg-rich lithologies. Simultaneous occurrence of a KREEP basalt and a genetically KREEP-related, high-Al basalt, a Mg-rich troctolite/norite and the Si, Na-rich impact glasses can constrain the source region of Y983885 to the KREEP-rich Procellarum terrane in the northwestern hemisphere of the lunar nearside

Effects of seed lots and seed production time on growth, flowering and cut flower quality in Bupleurum rotundifolium L.

Effects of seed lots (No. 021793, 025090, 026247, 027668) and seed production time on growth, flowering and cut flower quality in Bupleurum rotundifolium L. were investigated. The rate of germination was different depending on the seed lots, 021793 was lowest, and 026247 was highest. Days to visible bud and flowering were the shortest at 025090, and longest at 026247. The rate of germination of seed harvested on home seed-raising was different for seed production time. Seed harvested during high temperature period from the middle of June to the beginning of July showed remarkably high rate of germination. While plants grown by seed harvested during high temperature period remarkably delayed flowering and had low cut flower quality, plants grown on seed harvested during low temperature period enhanced flowering and had high cut flower quality. There was a little difference in parental line. It was thought that seed production time was affected by the environmental conditions during seed production time than by the seed lot

Petrology and reflectance spectroscopy of lunar meteorite Yamato 981031: Implications for the source region of the meteorite and remote-sensing spectroscopy

Combined mineralogy and reflectance spectroscopy of lunar meteorite Yamato (Y) 981031 were investigated to determine its possible source region. Mineralogical observations indicate that Y981031 is a mixture of mafic mare and feldspathic highland components. Y981031 has abundant mineral fragments and lithic clasts in a comminuted matrix. Although the most of the lithic clasts are pyroxene-dominant basaltic clasts, some plagioclase-rich lithic fragments are also present. High- and low-Ca pyroxene grains with wide compositional variations are included in the breccia. Since high-Ca pyroxene (Wo43En40Fs17 to Wo29En23Fs48) and a part of Fe-rich low-Ca pyroxene are found in pyroxene-dominant basaltic clasts, they were derived from mare materials. In contrast, abundant Mg-rich low-Ca pyroxene (approximately Wo10En63Fs27) is of highland origin because their chemical compositions resemble highland low-Ca pyroxene. Fusion crust glass compositions (TiO2=0.50-0.77wt and FeO=11.7-15.4wt) suggest that source mafic components of Y981031 have very low-Ti (VLT) affinity. In comparison with global remote-sensing data, the above TiO2 and FeO concentrations resemble those of the VLT affinity in Mare Frigoris and adjacent maria. Thus, we propose that Y981031 was launched from this area. Modified gaussian model analysis of reflectance spectrum shows absorption features of high-Ca pyroxene (mare-origin) and Mg-rich low-Ca pyroxene (highland-origin), and enables us to observe separately mineralogical characteristics of each end member of Y981031 as the soil mixture

Photoelectric Dye, NK-5962, as a Potential Drug for Preventing Retinal Neurons from Apoptosis: Pharmacokinetic Studies Based on Review of the Evidence

NK-5962 is a key component of photoelectric dye-based retinal prosthesis (OUReP). In testing the safety and efficacy, NK-5962 was safe in all tests for the biological evaluation of medical devices (ISO 10993) and effective in preventing retinal cells from death even under dark conditions. The long-term implantation of the photoelectric dye-coupled polyethylene film in the subretinal space of hereditary retinal dystrophic (RCS) rats prevented neurons from apoptosis in the adjacent retinal tissue. The intravitreous injection of NK-5962 in the eyes of RCS rats, indeed, reduced the number of apoptotic cells in the retinal outer nuclear layer irrespective of light or dark conditions. In this study, we reviewed the in vitro and in vivo evidence of neuroprotective effect of NK-5962 and designed pharmacokinetic experiments. The in vitro IC50 of 1.7 μM, based on the protective effect on retinal cells in culture, could explain the in vivo EC50 of 3 μM that is calculated from concentrations of intravitreous injection to prevent retinal neurons from apoptosis. Pharmacokinetics of NK-5962 showed that intravenous administration, but not oral administration, led to the effective concentration in the eye of rats. NK-5962 would be a candidate drug for delaying the deterioration of retinal dystrophy, such as retinitis pigmentosa

The use of uniaxial accelerometry for the assessment of physical-activity-related energy expenditure: a validation study against whole-body indirect calorimetry

Assessing the total energy expenditure (TEE) and the levels of physical activity in free-living conditions with non-invasive techniques remains a challenge. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the accuracy of a new uniaxial accelerometer for assessing TEE and physical-activity-related energy expenditure (PAEE) over a 24 h period in a respiratory chamber, and to establish activity levels based on the accelerometry ranges corresponding to the operationally defined metabolic equivalent (MET) categories. In study 1, measurement of the 24 h energy expenditure of seventy-nine Japanese subjects (40 (SD 12) years old) was performed in a large respiratory chamber. During the measurements, the subjects wore a uniaxial accelerometer (Lifecorder; Suzuken Co. Ltd, Nagoya, Japan) on their belt. Two moderate walking exercises of 30 min each were performed on a horizontal treadmill. In study 2, ten male subjects walked at six different speeds and ran at three different speeds on a treadmill for 4 min, with the same accelerometer. O2 consumption was measured during the last minute of each stage and was expressed in MET. The measured TEE was 8447 (SD 1337) kJ/d. The accelerometer significantly underestimated TEE and PAEE (91·9 (SD 5·4) and 92·7 (SD 17·8) % chamber value respectively); however, there was a significant correlation between the two values (r 0·928 and 0·564 respectively; P<0·001). There was a strong correlation between the activity levels and the measured MET while walking (r2 0·93; P<0·001). Although TEE and PAEE were systematically underestimated during the 24 h period, the accelerometer assessed energy expenditure well during both the exercise period and the non-structured activities. Individual calibration factors may help to improve the accuracy of TEE estimation, but the average calibration factor for the group is probably sufficient for epidemiological research. This method is also important for assessing the diurnal profile of physical activit

QUALITY OF LIFE IN PATIENTS WITH DIABETES MELLITUS

We evaluated the quality of life (QOL) in 268 patients with diabetes mellitus (NIDDM, 250 cases; IDDM, 10 cases; and other type of diabetes, 8 cases) to determine which aspects were adversely affected by the disease. Information concerning life satisfaction, social activities, ability to work, sexual problems and physical symptoms was obtained from a 30-item questionnaire. Clinical characteristics including duration of diabetes, glycemic control, current treatment, obesity, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, macro- and microvascular complications were obtained from medical records. Diminished QOL was most pronounced in patients who had had a long duration of disease, required insulin therapy, and whose health was disturbed by cerebrovascular disease, end-stage renal disease, mono- and autonomic neuropathy. A significant difference in the subdimensional QOL score was noted in life satisfaction, social activities, ability to work, sexual problems and physical symptoms under these circumstances

High-Throughput flaA Short Variable Region Sequencing to Assess Campylobacter Diversity in Fecal Samples From Birds

Current approach to identify sources of human pathogens is largely dependent on the cultivation and isolation of target bacteria. For rapid pathogen source identification, culture-independent strain typing method is necessary. In this study, we designed new primer set that broadly covers flaA short variable region (SVR) of various Campylobacter species, and applied the flaA SVR sequencing method to examine the diversity of Campylobacter spp. in geese fecal samples (n = 16) with and without bacteria cultivation. Twenty-three Campylobacter strains isolated from the 16 geese fecal samples were grouped similarly by conventional flaA restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) method and by the flaA SVR sequencing method, but higher discriminant power was observed in the flaA SVR sequencing approach. For culture-independent flaA SVR sequencing analysis, we developed and optimized the sequence data analysis pipeline to identify as many genotypes as possible, while minimizing the detection of genotypes generated by sequencing errors. By using this pipeline, 51,629 high-quality flaA sequence reads were clustered into 16 operational taxonomic units (=genotypes) by using 98% sequence similarity and &gt;50 sequence duplicates. Almost all flaA genotypes obtained by culture-dependent method were also identified by culture-independent flaA SVR MiSeq sequencing method. In addition, more flaA genotypes were identified probably due to high throughput nature of the MiSeq sequencing. These results suggest that the flaA SVR sequencing could be used to analyze the diversity of Campylobacter spp. without bacteria isolation. This method is promising to rapidly identify potential sources of Campylobacter pathogens

Development of the Curriculum for the Connection Period of an Elementary School and a Junior High School : Through Teachers in Kindergarten Joining Classes at Elementary School

本研究は，幼稚園教員・小学校教員がそれぞれの校種の保育・授業に参観・参加し，それぞれの専門性を活かして交流することを通し，幼小接続期におけるカリキュラムの開発に向けた基礎的情報を得ることを目的とする。特に，本研究では幼稚園教員による１年生の授業参加を通して認識した共通点・差異点に着目する。研究の方法としては，幼稚園教員が小学校１年生の生活科・音楽科の授業にＴ２として参加し，他の幼稚園教員は参観する。その後，幼稚園教員に対して質問紙調査を実施した。また，生活科・音楽科の授業後に，幼稚園教員と小学校教員で授業参加に関する研究協議を実施した。結果としては，次の３点である。１点目は，ねらいによって，受容・共感の言葉がけやねらいに向けて展開していく言葉がけが必要である。２点目は，幼稚園教師は子どもの成長を見ており，小学校教師は子どもを教科の枠で見ていることに違いがあり，この点に関しては接続期において配慮することが必要である。３点目は，ねらいが幼小で同じようでも活動の展開の仕方に違いがあり，子どもの発達に応じて活動の展開を工夫することが必要である。The purpose of this study was to develop a connective curriculum between kindergarten and elementary school. To achieve this, the differences between kindergarten and elementary school teachers were investigated. Kindergarten teachers participated in a music or a human life and science class in a team teaching staff or as observers. After this experiences, participants were asked some open-ended questions. The main results are as follows: (1) it is important to express sympathy to and adoption of the aims and goals of the class a; (2) kindergarten teachers tend to focus on the growth of children, compared with elementary school teachers, who focus on the goal of the class; (3) there are differences in the ways of conducting teaching activities even when the aims of classes are same

THYROID DYSFUNCTION FOLLOWING ALPHA-INTERFERON TREATMENT FOR CHRONIC HEPATITIS C

In order to evaluate the influnces of IFNα on thyroid function, thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), total thyroxine (T4), free T4, tri-iodothyronine (T3), and thyroxine-binding globulin were examined in IFNα-treated 351 patients with chronic hepatitis C before and during therapy. As therapy, either 3 million units (MU) of human lymphoblastoid IFNα or 9MU of recombinant IFNα2a was administrated daily for the initial two weeks followed by three times a week for 22 weeks. There were nine patients showing thyroid dysfunction during IFNα therapy. They consist of one relapse of Graves' disease, one relapse of Hashimoto thyroiditis, one development of apparent thyroid insufficiency from subclinical hypothyroidism, five cases with transient hyperthyroidism and one case with transient hypothyroidism. T4 and T3 levels in most patients who transiently developed thyroid dysfunction were normalized spontaneously after the discontinuation of IFNα. Thyroid-related autoantibodies were positive in 4 patients before IFNα therapy and newly developed in one patient during therapy. Attention should be paid first to the previous histories of autoimmune thyroid diseases and the existence of thyroid-related autoantibodies for the prediction of development of thyroid dysfunction during IFNα therapy. In addition, serial examinations of TSH, T3 and T4 should be also necessary for early detection of transient thyroid dysfunction during IFNα therapy

Mercury concentrations in primary feathers reflect pollutant exposure in discrete non-breeding grounds used by Short-tailed Shearwaters

We measured mercury concentrations ([Hg]) and nitrogen stable isotope ratios (δ15N) in the primary feathers of Short-tailed Shearwaters (Puffinus tenuirostris) that were tracked year-round. The [Hg] were highest in 14 birds that used the Okhotsk and northern Japan Seas during the non-breeding period (2.5 ± 1.4 μg/g), lowest in nine birds that used the eastern Bering Sea (0.8 ± 0.2 μg/g), and intermediate in five birds that used both regions (1.0 ± 0.5 μg/g), with no effects of δ15N. The results illustrate that samples from seabirds can provide a useful means of monitoring pollution at a large spatial scale