Conglomerate of the Karaumedate Formation in the Kitakami Massif, Northeast Japan

The gravels contained in the Karaumedate Formation (Carboniferous) are described and discussed as to depositional environment and stratigraphical value

Sedimentological Study of the Iwaki Formation of the Joban Coal Field

The Joban coal field has been studied from the economic and academic points of view by many geologists, paleontologists and sedimentologists. The sedimentological studies on the Iwaki Formation had hitherto been concentrated to the condition of deposition of the coal beds and to the formation of the cyclothems whereas analysis of the rocks deposited in the sedimentary basin of the Iwaki Formation had remained untouched probably because of the difficulty in detail correlation of its laterally variable strata and also to the confusion in distinction from superjacent stratigraphic units. The Iwaki Formation was studied from the sedimentary petrographic side to clarify the characters of its sediments and to reconstruct the sedimentary basin in which it was deposited. The petrographic study was carried out on the conglomerate, sandstone, clay minerals, and on the assemblage, composition and distribution of the different lithofacies in both lateral and vertical sequence, and on the texture of the sediments such as grain size, grain shape and their distributions. From the analyses of the grains and their size distribution, the cumulative frequency curve for sandstone was classified into four types for the Iwaki and one for the superjacent Asagai Formation. Despite the change of the grain size in the sandstone that included much matrix, the distribution curve shows moderately -- poor sorted・fine skewed uniformly, and coincides with Visher\u27s (1969) curve indicating Recent delta-estuary sand. The relationship between sorting and skewness is that all samples belong to the group of river sand clan defined by Friedman (1961). The C-M pattern of the sandstone (Passega, 1957) shows that the samples fall in the R-Q and Q-P segments and therefore, the sedimentary environment may have been a river channel or a braided stream (Bull, 1962). The sandstones are composed of quartz, feldspar, mica, hornblende, pyroxene and other heavy minerals, and beside those minerals, there are also included many rock fragments of sandstone, slate, chert, green schist, porphyritic rocks and volcanic rock. The sandstone components were derived from many provenances. A noteworthy constituent is volcanic rock; under the microscope it is a hornblende-pyroxene andesite, but detail identification of the pyroxene was impossible because the material suffered intense weathering. The volcanics and chert are exotic constituents in the Iwaki Formation. The clay minerals identified by X-ray powder diffraction comprised mostly moutmorillonite, kaolin and chlorite. And in the diffraction peaks, calcite and dolomite are identified in the cementing material. It is an important fact that the diffraction of clinoptilolite of the zeolite group is found in the X-ray analysis. In the analysis of the compositional change in vertical sequence of the sand size minerals quartz and feldspars always occupy 20-30 percent of every samples, the percentage of the volcanic rock content is usually 10 percent but in three horizons its percentage increased. The horizons at which the volcanic rocks increase are observed throughout the area after the deposition of the main coal seam, especially in the post-Tochikubo conglomerate deposits and in the uppermost horizon. The occurrence of clinoptilolite coincides well with the horizons at which the volcanic rock fragments increased. From this fact, the existence of three volcanic activities during deposition of the Iwaki Formation was confirmed. The last volcanic activity found in the uppermost part of the Iwaki Formation seems to serve to separate the Asagai Formation from the Iwaki and to indicate the initial phase of the main marine transgression. From the three periods of volcanic activity the deposition of the Iwaki Formation can be divided into three periods of (I) Early, (II) Middle and (III) Late

Mitochondrial and apoptotic neuronal death signaling pathways in cerebral ischemia

AbstractMitochondria play important roles as the powerhouse of the cell. After cerebral ischemia, mitochondria overproduce reactive oxygen species (ROS), which have been thoroughly studied with the use of superoxide dismutase transgenic or knockout animals. ROS directly damage lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids in the cell. Moreover, ROS activate various molecular signaling pathways. Apoptosis-related signals return to mitochondria, then mitochondria induce cell death through the release of pro-apoptotic proteins such as cytochrome c or apoptosis-inducing factor. Although the mechanisms of cell death after cerebral ischemia remain unclear, mitochondria obviously play a role by activating signaling pathways through ROS production and by regulating mitochondria-dependent apoptosis pathways

Taxonomy and chemical characterization of antibiotics of Streptosporangium Sg 10 isolated from a Saharan soil

A new actinomycete strain designated Sg 10, producing antimicrobial substances was isolated from an Algerian soil. Morphological and chemical studies indicated that strain Sg 10 belonged to the genus Streptosporangium. The comparison of its physiological characteristics with those of known species of Streptosporangium showed significant differences with the nearest species Streptosporangium carneum. Analysis of the 16S rDNA sequence of strain Sg 10 showed a similarity level ranging between 96.3% and 97.8% within Streptosporangium species, with S. carneum the most closely related. However, the phylogenetic analysis indicated that strain Sg 10 represent a distinct phyletic line suggesting a new genomic species. The antimicrobial activity of strain Sg 10 showed an antibacterial activity against Gram-positive bacteria as well as an antifungal one. Four active products were isolated from the culture broth using various separation procedures. On the basis of UV-VIS spectrometry, infrared spectroscopy and chemical revelations, the antibiotics were classified in the group of glycosylated aromatics

"Risk of overestimating treatment effects and generalizability of computer-based tailored dietary counseling".

Letter to the Edito

Lower Cardiorenal Risk with Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter-2 Inhibitors versus Dipeptidyl Peptidase-4 Inhibitors in Type 2 Diabetes Patients without Cardiovascular and Renal Diseases: A large multinational observational study

BACKGROUND: We compared new use of sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitor (SGLT2i) vs. dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor (DPP4i) and the risk of cardiorenal disease, heart failure (HF) or chronic kidney disease (CKD), in type 2 diabetes patients without history of prevalent cardiovascular and renal disease, defined as cardiovascular- and renal disease (CVRD) free, managed in routine clinical practice. METHODS: In this observational cohort study, patients were identified in electronic health records in England, Germany, Japan, Norway, South Korea and Sweden, from 2012 to 2018. A total of 1 006 577 CVRD-free new users of SGLT2i or DPP4i were propensity score matched 1:1. Unadjusted Cox regression was used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) for outcomes; cardiorenal disease, HF, CKD, stroke, myocardial infarction (MI) cardiovascular- and all-cause death. RESULTS: Baseline characteristics were well-balanced between the treatment groups (n = 105 130 in each group) with total follow up of 187 955 patient years. Patients were mean 56 years, 43% women and indexed between 2013 and 2018. The most commonly used agents were dapagliflozin (91.7% of exposure time) and sitagliptin/linagliptin (55.0%), in the SGLT2i and DPP4i groups respectively. SGLT2i was associated with lower risk of cardiorenal disease, HF, CKD, all-cause- and cardiovascular death; HR (95% CI) 0.56 (0.42-0.74), 0.71 (0.59-0.86), 0.44 (0.28-0.69), 0.67 (0.59-0.77) and 0.61 (0.44-0.85) respectively. No differences were observed for stroke (0.87 [0.69-1.09]) and MI (0.94 [0.80-1.11]). CONCLUSION: In this multinational observational study, SGLT2i was associated with lower risk of heart failure and chronic kidney disease versus DPP4i in T2D patients otherwise free from both cardiovascular and renal disease

Understanding In Vivo Fate of Nucleic Acid and Gene Medicines for the Rational Design of Drugs

Nucleic acid and genetic medicines are increasingly being developed, owing to their potential to treat a variety of intractable diseases. A comprehensive understanding of the in vivo fate of these agents is vital for the rational design, discovery, and fast and straightforward development of the drugs. In case of intravascular administration of nucleic acids and genetic medicines, interaction with blood components, especially plasma proteins, is unavoidable. However, on the flip side, such interaction can be utilized wisely to manipulate the pharmacokinetics of the agents. In other words, plasma protein binding can help in suppressing the elimination of nucleic acids from the blood stream and deliver naked oligonucleotides and gene carriers into target cells. To control the distribution of these agents in the body, the ligand conjugation method is widely applied. It is also important to understand intracellular localization. In this context, endocytosis pathway, endosomal escape, and nuclear transport should be considered and discussed. Encapsulated nucleic acids and genes must be dissociated from the carriers to exert their activity. In this review, we summarize the in vivo fate of nucleic acid and gene medicines and provide guidelines for the rational design of drugs

Malignant pleural mesothelioma with long-term tumor disappearance of a local relapse after surgery: a case report

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