Magnetic properties of high petrologic grade L-LL chondrites: Tenham,Tuxtuac,Willard and Forrest(b)

Temperature dependence of the hysteresis parameters (saturation magnetization, Js; saturation remanent magnetization, Jr; coercivity, Hc; and initial susceptibility, Xi) were examined from room temperature to 780℃ for Tenham (L6), Tuxtuac (LL5), Willard (L6) and Forrest (b) (L6) chondrites. Their main magnetic minerals were determined from the analyses of transition temperatures (Θ_, Θ_, Θ_). The NRM characteristics of these chondrites were measured and are discussed on the basis of magnetic properties. The main magnetic minerals of the Tenham chondrite are taenite (γ-(Fe, Ni)) with 54 at % Ni and kamacite (α-(Fe, Ni)) with 7 at % Ni, and the main NRM carrier is taenite. Tenham has a stable NRM. Tuxtuac mainly contains tetrataenite and taenite (the ratio tetrataenite : taenite is 15 : 85,T. NAGATA et al., Mem. Natl Inst. Polar Res., Spec. Issue, 41,364,1986) and they both contribute to NRM. The NRM of Tuxtuac is rather unstable magnetically. The main magnetic minerals of the Willard chondrite are the same as those of Tenham, i. e. taenite with 54 at % Ni and kamacite with 7 at % Ni. The main NRM carrier is taenite. Willard has an unstable NRM. Forrest is suggested to have experienced some alteration, on the basis of the analysis of the Js-T curve, and may have acquired a secondary NRM of probable terrestrial origin

Liquefaction Damage of Harbor Facilities during the 1995 South Hyogo Earthquake

The 1995 South Hyogo Earthquake took several thousand of lives and destroyed momentarily infrastructures which were designed to perform for a long time. Particularly damages of harbor facilities including Kobe Port were almost completely destroyed. Geological hazards occurred on a large scale at many areas too. This paper describes results of field surveys about damages of harbor facilities and liquefactions mainly in Kobe City, and discusses some about the mechanism and the countermersure

Choroidal Folds in Acute-Stage Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada Disease Patients with Relatively Short Axial Length

Purpose: To report 2 cases of Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease accompanied by remarkable choroidal folds in the acute stage. The early indicator of recurrence in these 2 cases was the identification of choroidal folds by spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). Case Reports: A 68-year-old woman (Case 1) presented with visual loss in both eyes. Funduscopic examination revealed optic disc swelling and serous retinal detachment in both eyes. SD-OCT revealed remarkable choroidal folds and serous retinal detachment. After the initiation of systemic steroid treatment, choroidal folds disappeared rapidly and the amount of serous retinal detachment reduced remarkably. Choroidal folds observed on SD-OCT were the early indicators of recurrence prior to the emergence of serous retinal detachment. A 62-year-old woman (Case 2) presented with bilateral blurred vision and metamorphopsia. SD-OCT showed remarkable choroidal folds and serous retinal detachment in both eyes. After the initiation of systemic steroid treatment, choroidal folds and serous retinal detachment disappeared. At the time of recurrence, choroidal folds were observed by OCT. Discussion: During monitoring of Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease treatment, choroidal folds could be an early sign of recurrence. When choroidal folds are observed and recognized as an early indicator of recurrence, a prompt increase in steroids can improve the patients’ prognosis. Finally, both cases presented here had relatively short axial lengths, and we speculate that a shortened axial length may be a cause of choroidal folds in the acute stage of the disease

Thermal and Mechanical Properties of Glass Cullet Mixed with Asphalt as Low-Exothermic Pavement Material

The asphalt pavement contributes to the heat island phenomenon of the city. Thus in order to decrease the temperature of asphalt pavement and to utilize glass cullet as a recycling material as an aggregate, some tests were carried out. In this study the specimen in which the cullet was entrapped in cold-laid paving materials and non-mixing specimen are made respectively, and the surface temperature of each specimen is measured by the thermal video camera. A set of tests have been conducted and results indicated the clear effect of glass cullet in reducing the radiation temperature of asphalt pavement

Exploration of new superconductors and functional materials and fabrication of superconducting tapes and wires of iron pnictides

This paper reviews the highlights of a 4-years-long research project supported by the Japanese Government to explore new superconducting materials and relevant functional materials. The project found several tens of new superconductors by examining ~1000 materials, each of which was chosen by Japanese team member experts with a background in solid state chemistry. This review summarizes the major achievements of the project in newly found superconducting materials, and the wire and tape fabrication of iron-based superconductors. It is a unique feature of this review to incorporate a list of ~700 unsuccessful materials examined for superconductivity in the project. In addition, described are new functional materials and functionalities discovered during the project.Comment: 141 pages, 127 Figures, 14 Tables, 535 Refrence

Golimumab in combination with methotrexate in Japanese patients with active rheumatoid arthritis: results of the GO-FORTH study

Objective: To assess the efficacy and safety of golimumab + methotrexate (MTX) in Japanese patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods: 269 Japanese patients with active RA despite treatment with MTX were randomised (1:1:1) to placebo + MTX (Group 1), golimumab 50 mg + MTX (Group 2) or golimumab 100 mg + MTX (Group 3). Subcutaneous golimumab/placebo was injected every 4 weeks; stable doses of oral MTX (6-8 mg/week) were continued. Patients were allowed to enter early escape (Group 1 added golimumab 50 mg, Group 2 increased golimumab to 100 mg, Group 3 continued golimumab 100 mg) based on swollen/tender joint counts at week 14. The primary study endpoint was achievement of at least 20% improvement in the American College of Rheumatology (ACR20) response criteria at week 14. To control for multiplicity of testing, treatment group comparisons were first made between combined Groups 2 and 3 versus Group 1, followed by comparisons of Group 2 and Group 3 versus Group 1. Results: The proportion of patients with an ACR20 response at week 14 was significantly higher in combined Groups 2 and 3 (73.4%, 127/173) and in each of Group 2 (72.1%, 62/86) and Group 3 (74.7%, 65/87) compared with Group 1 (27.3%, 24/88; p<0.0001 for all comparisons). Golimumab + MTX also elicited a significantly better response than placebo + MTX in other efficacy parameters, including disease activity score (DAS28) response/remission and radiographic assessments. During the 16-week fixed treatment regimen study period, 72.7%, 75.6% and 78.2% of patients had adverse events and 1.1%, 1.2% and 2.3% had serious adverse events in Groups 1, 2 and 3, respectively. Conclusion: In Japanese patients with active RA despite MTX therapy, golimumab + MTX was significantly more effective than MTX monotherapy in reducing RA signs/symptoms and limiting radiographic progression with no unexpected safety concerns

X-ray Astronomy in the Laboratory with a Miniature Compact Object Produced by Laser-Driven Implosion

Laboratory spectroscopy of non-thermal equilibrium plasmas photoionized by intense radiation is a key to understanding compact objects, such as black holes, based on astronomical observations. This paper describes an experiment to study photoionizing plasmas in laboratory under well-defined and genuine conditions. Photoionized plasma is here generated using a 0.5-keV Planckian x-ray source created by means of a laser-driven implosion. The measured x-ray spectrum from the photoionized silicon plasma resembles those observed from the binary stars Cygnus X-3 and Vela X-1 with the Chandra x-ray satellite. This demonstrates that an extreme radiation field was produced in the laboratory, however, the theoretical interpretation of the laboratory spectrum significantly contradicts the generally accepted explanations in x-ray astronomy. This model experiment offers a novel test bed for validation and verification of computational codes used in x-ray astronomy.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures are included. This is the original submitted version of the manuscript to be published in Nature Physic

Distinct Functions of the Primate Putamen Direct and Indirect Pathways in Adaptive Outcome-Based Action Selection

Cortico-basal ganglia circuits are critical regulators of reward-based decision making. Reinforcement learning models posit that action reward value is encoded by the firing activity of striatal medium spiny neurons (MSNs) and updated upon changing reinforcement contingencies by dopamine (DA) signaling to these neurons. However, it remains unclear how the anatomically distinct direct and indirect pathways through the basal ganglia are involved in updating action reward value under changing contingencies. MSNs of the direct pathway predominantly express DA D1 receptors and those of the indirect pathway predominantly D2 receptors, so we tested for distinct functions in behavioral adaptation by injecting D1 and D2 receptor antagonists into the putamen of two macaque monkeys performing a free choice task for probabilistic reward. In this task, monkeys turned a handle toward either a left or right target depending on an asymmetrically assigned probability of large reward. Reward probabilities of left and right targets changed after 30-150 trials, so the monkeys were required to learn the higher-value target choice based on action-outcome history. In the control condition, the monkeys showed stable selection of the higher-value target (that more likely to yield large reward) and kept choosing the higher-value target regardless of less frequent small reward outcomes. The monkeys also made flexible changes of selection away from the high-value target when two or three small reward outcomes occurred randomly in succession. DA D1 antagonist injection significantly increased the probability of the monkey switching to the alternate target in response to successive small reward outcomes. Conversely, D2 antagonist injection significantly decreased the switching probability. These results suggest distinct functions of D1 and D2 receptor-mediated signaling processes in action selection based on action-outcome history, with D1 receptor-mediated signaling promoting the stable choice of higher-value targets and D2 receptor-mediated signaling promoting a switch in action away from small reward outcomes. Therefore, direct and indirect pathways appear to have complementary functions in maintaining optimal goal-directed action selection and updating action value, which are dependent on D1 and D2 DA receptor signaling

Time-resolved serial femtosecond crystallography reveals early structural changes in channelrhodopsin

X線自由電子レーザーを用いて、光照射によるチャネルロドプシンの構造変化の過程を捉えることに成功. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2021-03-26.Channelrhodopsins (ChRs) are microbial light-gated ion channels utilized in optogenetics to control neural activity with light . Light absorption causes retinal chromophore isomerization and subsequent protein conformational changes visualized as optically distinguished intermediates, coupled with channel opening and closing. However, the detailed molecular events underlying channel gating remain unknown. We performed time-resolved serial femtosecond crystallographic analyses of ChR by using an X-ray free electron laser, which revealed conformational changes following photoactivation. The isomerized retinal adopts a twisted conformation and shifts toward the putative internal proton donor residues, consequently inducing an outward shift of TM3, as well as a local deformation in TM7. These early conformational changes in the pore-forming helices should be the triggers that lead to opening of the ion conducting pore