SuprimeCam Observation of Sporadic Meteors during Perseids 2004

We report the serendipitous findings of 13 faint meteors and 44 artificial space objects by Subaru SuprimeCam imaging observations during 11-16 August 2004. The meteors, at about 100km altitude, and artificial satellites/debris in orbit, at 500km altitude or higher, were clearly discriminated by their apparent defocused image sizes. CCD photometry of the 13 meteors, including 1 Perseid, 1 Aquarid, and 11 sporadic meteors, was performed. We defined a peak video-rate magnitude by comparing the integrated photon counts from the brightest portion of the track traversed within 33ms to those from a 0-mag star during the same time duration. This definition gives magnitudes in the range 4.0< V_{vr} <6.4 and 4.1< I_{vr}<5.9 for these 13 meteors. The corresponding magnitude for virtual naked-eye observers could be somewhat fainter especially for the V-band observation, in which the [OI] 5577 line lasting about 1 sec as an afterglow could contribute to the integrated flux of the present 5-10 min CCD exposures. Although the spatial resolution is insufficient to resolve the source size of anything smaller than about 1 m, we developed a new estimate of the collisionally excited column diameter of these meteors. A diameter as small as a few mm was derived from their collisionally excited photon rates, meteor speed, and the volume density of the oxygen atoms at the 100km altitude. The actual column diameter of the radiating zone, however, could be as large as few 100m because the excited atoms travel that distance before they emit forbidden lines in 0.7 sec of its average lifetime. Among the 44 artificial space objects, we confirmed that 17 were cataloged satellites/space debris.Comment: 14 pages, 13 figures, 5 tables, submitted to PAS

Chocolate as a food matrix reduces the bioavailability of galloylated catechins from green tea in healthy women

In this study, we evaluated the food matrix effects of chocolate on absorption of green tea catechins (GTCs), (−)-epicatechin (EC), (−)-epigallocatechin (EGC), (−)-epicatechin gallate (ECg), and (−)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCg), in five healthy 22-year-old women. In the single-intake experiment, the plasma concentrations of ECg (P < 0.05, at 1.5 h) and EGCg (P < 0.05, at 6 h) but not those of EC and EGC were reduced by the chocolate matrix. Regardless of the chocolate matrix, ECg and EGCg were mainly present as their aglycones in the plasma, whereas EGC and EC were found mostly as conjugated metabolites. After daily intake of GTCs mixed with chocolate for 14 days followed by overnight fasting, ECg but not EGCg was detected in the plasma. To compare the plasma profiles of ECg and EGCg, a mixture containing approximately equal amounts of ECg and EGCg was administered to nine rats for 14 days. Following treatment and overnight food deprivation, the plasma content of ECg was higher than that of EGCg. After a single injection of the same mixture in seven rats, ECg levels were higher than those of EGCg, and a greater amount of conjugated metabolites of ECg than those of EGCg was detected in the plasma 10 h after administration. In conclusion, the chocolate matrix affects the plasma profiles of GTCs, particularly ECg. ECg appears to persist in the plasma for a longer period, regardless of the chocolate matrix

Preference of middle-aged Japanese regarding place to receive end-of-life care: a case study of parents of nursing students

Objectives: This study was performed to assess the preference of middle-aged Japanese regarding end-of-life care. 　Methods: A structured, self-administered questionnaire survey regarding preference of place to receive end-of-life care was performed among parents of nursing school students by postal mail. 　Results: A total of 64 （61.5%） participants returned the questionnaire. Some of the major concerns regarding home-based end-of-life care were being a burden on their family and whether their family would accept care at home at the end of their life. The majority of the participants wanted more information regarding financial support system and availability of medical and care institutions and care support services to receive home-based end-of-life care, regardless of the extent of their pre-existing knowledge regarding end-of-life care, and participants with little or no prior knowledge of the end-of-life care were less likely to appreciate the importance of family support system. 　Conclusions: These results suggest that ignorance about end-of-life care produces a narrower range of choices and limits decision making regarding such care, even though most participants would prefer to receive end-of-life care at home

Dipoid-Specific Genome Stability Genes of S. cerevisiae: Genomic Screen Reveals Haploidization as an Escape from Persisting DNA Rearrangement Stress

Maintaining a stable genome is one of the most important tasks of every living cell and the mechanisms ensuring it are similar in all of them. The events leading to changes in DNA sequence (mutations) in diploid cells occur one to two orders of magnitude more frequently than in haploid cells. The majority of those events lead to loss of heterozygosity at the mutagenesis marker, thus diploid-specific genome stability mechanisms can be anticipated. In a new global screen for spontaneous loss of function at heterozygous forward mutagenesis marker locus, employing three different mutagenesis markers, we selected genes whose deletion causes genetic instability in diploid Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells. We have found numerous genes connected with DNA replication and repair, remodeling of chromatin, cell cycle control, stress response, and in particular the structural maintenance of chromosome complexes. We have also identified 59 uncharacterized or dubious ORFs, which show the genome instability phenotype when deleted. For one of the strongest mutators revealed in our screen, ctf18Δ/ctf18Δ the genome instability manifests as a tendency to lose the whole set of chromosomes. We postulate that this phenomenon might diminish the devastating effects of DNA rearrangements, thereby increasing the cell's chances of surviving stressful conditions. We believe that numerous new genes implicated in genome maintenance, together with newly discovered phenomenon of ploidy reduction, will help revealing novel molecular processes involved in the genome stability of diploid cells. They also provide the clues in the quest for new therapeutic targets to cure human genome instability-related diseases

Temporal changes in radioactive Cs concentration in sea sediment off East Japan, after the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear accident

Measurement techniques using a towed gamma rayspectrometer allows to map the continuous distribution of 137Cs onthe seafloor within 30 km of the F1NPP. This study has revealedthat the temporal change in the 137Cs concentration does not showa constant rate of decrease. Furthermore, the local 137Cs anomalies,with concentrations of 137Cs one or two order of magnitude higherthan the surrounding seafloors, is influenced by local features ofthe bathymetric feature.<br/

Characteristics of persistent arthritis with refractory Kawasaki disease: a single-center retrospective study

Abstract Arthritis is one complication of Kawasaki disease (KD); however, the clinical features of arthritis in KD have not been well clarified. We retrospectively investigated the characteristics of persistent arthritis beyond the subacute phase of KD. In this cohort, 49 of 243 patients (20%) developed arthritis, with 33 patients (14%) experiencing persistent arthritis. Among these 33 patients, 31 (94%) had complete KD. Thirty (91%) were resistant to first intravenous immunoglobulin, and 15 (45%) required additional infliximab. Five patients (15%) developed coronary artery lesions, and 24 (73%) had oligoarthritis, mainly in large lower-extremity joints. Twenty-four patients (73%) complained of arthralgia. At arthritis onset, 16 patients (48%) presented with fever, including recurrent fever in 10 patients. Serum C-reactive protein concentration in patients with active arthritis significantly increased compared with after acute KD treatment (2.4 vs. 0.7 mg/dL, p < 0.001). Serum matrix metalloproteinase-3, a biomarker of arthritis, was significantly higher in patients with active arthritis than in remission (93.7 vs. 20.3 ng/mL, p < 0.001). Thirty (91%) and 14 (42%) patients, respectively, were treated with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and prednisolone, and they completely recovered. To summarize, persistent arthritis is a common complication in refractory KD, and adequate diagnosis and treatment are necessary

Analysis of radioactive cesium-enriched particles and measurement of their distribution in marine sediment near Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant

Cesium-enriched particles released from the Fukushima Daiich Nuclear Power Plant (NPP1) exist in the Fukushima coastal waters and offshore, and they possibly affect the wide-area distribution of the radioactive cesium measured by the towed spectrometer. Therefore, the distribution of them in marine sediment was measured near NPP1 in November, 2016. We scanned the seafloor using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) equipped with a NaI(Tl) scintillation detector. The sediment samples were obtained on the survey line by the ROV’s suction-type sampler. Five cesium particles, with diameters of approximately 400 μm, were isolated from the samples. The radioactivity of 137Cs was less than 360 Bq, and no nuclides other than 134Cs, 137Cs, and natural radioactive ones were found from gamma-ray spectroscopy. In the particles, titanium and calcium were commonly detected by energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry. We also estimated the particles’ presence from the change in the total counting rate of the scintillation detector. The average particle density is found to be 3.45×10−2 m −1 at most. The average increase in the counting rate directly above the cesium-enriched particles in the sediment was less than double. Therefore, the effect of such particles on the distribution of radioactive cesium is limited