Search

We present a new model for current collected by a spherical Langmuir probe in magnetized plasmas. Data are obtained using state-of-the-art fully 3D kinetic particle-in-cell simulations. We perform a dimensional analysis and use it to determine the appropriate model function. The model is then empirically derived based on the simulation data for a range of probe potentials and magnetic field values with respect to the Debye length. The final model function is applicable to most space plasmas and can easily be generalized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Koki Takagaki,1 Yasumasa Okamoto,2 Ran Jinnin,2 Asako Mori,2 Yoshiko Nishiyama,3 Takanao Yamamura,4 Satoshi Yokoyama,2 Syouichi Shiota,5,6 Yuri Okamoto,1 Yoshie Miyake,1 Akiko Ogata,7 Yoshihiko Kunisato,8 Haruki Shimoda,9 Norito Kawakami,10 Toshi A Furukawa,11 Shigeto Yamawaki2 1Health Service Center, Hiroshima, Japan; 2Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan; 3Haruma City Office, Haruma, Japan; 4Kanazawa University Hospital Neuropsychiatry, Kanazawa, Japan; 5Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Tokyo, Japan; 6Department of Cognitive Psychology in Education, Graduate School of Education, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan; 7Department of Psychology, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan; 8Department of Psychology, School of Human Sciences, Senshu University, Kawasaki, Japan; 9Department of Hygiene and Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine, Iwate Medical University, Morioka, Japan; 10Department of Psychiatry of Mental Health, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan; 11Department of Health Promotion and Human Behavior and of Clinical Epidemiology, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine/School of Public health, Kyoto, Japan Background: No significant effect of psychological treatment has been reported from meta-analysis of subthreshold depression patients and control subjects at 1-year follow-up. However, behavioral activation is a simpler and more cost-effective treatment than cognitive behavioral therapy. The primary purpose of this study was to assess by comparison to an assessment-only control group whether the effects of behavioral activation program for depressive symptoms can persist up to 1-year follow-up without the use of antidepressants or other psychotherapy.Patients and methods: Late adolescent students were the population targeted in this study. Participants were allocated randomly to an intervention group (n=62) or a control group (n=56). Treatment consisted of five-weekly 60-minute sessions. Participants underwent a structured interview and completed self-report scales at 1 year post-assessment.Results: Late adolescent students receiving treatment had significantly lower mean Beck Depression Inventory, second edition scores at 1-year follow-up than control group students. The effect size (Hedges’ g) for between-group differences at 1-year follow-up was -0.41.Conclusion: Our behavioral activation program is simple and short. Nevertheless, the results obtained at 1-year follow-up of the control group and late adolescent students receiving treatment indicated a significant difference in their Beck Depression Inventory, second edition scores. Our 5-week behavioral activation program based on behavioral characteristics for subthreshold depression might be promising for subthreshold depression. The sample examined for this study imposed some study limitations. Keywords: behavioral activation, first-year university students, randomized controlled trial, subthreshold depression

Susumu Yoshino,1 Riyo Awa,1 Yasuo Miyake,1 Ikuo Fukuhara,2 Hisao Sato,3 Toyotada Ashino,3 Shinpei Tomita,3 Hiroshige Kuwahara1 1Research and Development Division, Research Center, Maruzen Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd., Hiroshima, Japan; 2Fukuhara Clinic, Hokkaido, Japan; 3Clinical Research Department, New Drug Research Center, Inc., Hokkaido, Japan Purpose: Obesity is a serious problem, which is now a worldwide health problem. Kaempferia parviflora extract (KPE) exhibits anti-obesity effects in animals. However, as no clinical trials have evaluated the anti-obesity effects of KPE in humans, we examined the effects of KPE in reducing abdominal fat in overweight and preobese Japanese subjects. Materials and methods: A 12-week, single-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted. Seventy-six subjects (males and females aged 20 to

Koki Takagaki,1 Yasumasa Okamoto,1 Ran Jinnin,1 Satoshi Yokoyama,1 Atsuo Yoshino,1 Fumi Kagawa,1 Yuri Okamoto,2 Yoshie Miyake,2 Shigeto Yamawaki1 1Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan; 2Health Service Center, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan Background: A Japanese study revealed that 20.7% of first-year undergraduate students had a major depressive episode during the previous 12 months: first-year undergraduate students with depression need early support. Reportedly, antidepressant medication use during adolescence is associated with modestly increased risk of suicidality. This case study of a late-adolescent woman with depression illustrates the effects of behavioral activation without psychotropic medication.Case presentation: A first-year undergraduate student was diagnosed as having major depressive disorder. From earlier studies, we developed a behavioral activation program for late-adolescent people with major depressive disorder. Behavioral activation administered in 10 weekly 60-minute sessions decreased depressive symptoms, avoidant behaviors, and rumination. Moreover, the Beck Depression Inventory, second version score was 1 at 1-year follow-up.Conclusion: Results of this case study show that behavioral activation is effective without psychotropic medication. Future studies of large samples must be conducted to assess the effectiveness of behavioral activation without psychotropic medication for depression in late adolescence. Keywords: avoidant behavior, behavioral activation without psychotropic medication, major depressive symptoms, rumination

Yoshino S, Awa R, Miyake Y, et al. Diabetes Metab Syndr Obes. 2018;11:447–458. The authors have advised that there is an error in the note section of Table 5 on page 454. The text in the Notes “Values are presented as mean±SD” should read “Data are expressed as mean±SD for values or mean±SE for delta” The authors apologize for this error. Read the original article

Ran Jinnin,1 Yasumasa Okamoto,1 Koki Takagaki,1 Yoshiko Nishiyama,1 Takanao Yamamura,1 Yuri Okamoto,2 Yoshie Miyake,2 Yoshitake Takebayashi,3 Keisuke Tanaka,4 Yoshinori Sugiura,5 Haruki Shimoda,6 Norito Kawakami,6 Toshi A Furukawa,7 Shigeto Yamawaki1 1Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, 2Health Service Center, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan; 3Risk Analysis Research Center, The Institute of Statistical Mathematics, Tokyo, Japan; 4Graduated School of Education, Joetsu University of Education, Niigata, Japan; 5Graduated School of Integrated Arts and Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan; 6Department of Mental Health, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan; 7Department of Health Promotion and Human Behavior, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine/School of Public Health, Kyoto, Japan Purpose: Despite its clinical importance, adolescent subthreshold depression remains a largely neglected topic. The aims of this study were to accurately identify the natural course of depressive symptoms and the risk for developing major depressive episode (MDE) in late adolescents with subthreshold depression over 1 year.Patients and methods: One hundred and seventy-two participants

High precision measurements of the ground state hyperfine structure (HFS) of muonium is a stringent tool for testing bound-state quantum electrodynamics (QED) theory, determining fundamental constants of the muon magnetic moment and mass, and searches for new physics. Muonium is the most suitable system to test QED because both theoretical and experimental values can be precisely determined. Previous measurements were performed decades ago at LAMPF with uncertainties mostly dominated by statistical errors. At the J-PARC Muon Science Facility (MUSE), the MuSEUM collaboration is planning complementary measurements of muonium HFS both at zero and high magnetic field. The new high-intensity muon beam that will soon be available at H-Line will provide an opportunity to improve the precision of these measurements by one order of magnitude. An overview of the different aspects of these new muonium HFS measurements, the current status of the preparation for high-field measurements, and the latest results at zero field are presented.

Surface charging properties of a nonconducting surface that has a deep cavity and is in contact with the solar wind plasma are investigated by means of the particle‐in‐cell plasma simulations. The modeled topography is an abstract representation of deep depressions found on the irregular surfaces of solid planetary bodies. The simulations have revealed unconventional charging features in that the cavity bottom is charged up to positive values even without any electron emission processes such as photoemission, provided that the surface location is accessible to a portion of incoming solar wind ions. The major driver of the positive charging is identified as drifting ions of the solar wind plasma, and an uncommon current ordering where ion currents exceed electron currents is established at the innermost part of the deep cavity. This also implies that the deep cavity bottom may have a positive potential of several hundred volts, which is similar in magnitude to the kinetic energy of an ion drift motion. The present study also clarifies the role of photoelectrons in developing the distinctive charging environment inside the cavity. The photoemitted electrons can no longer trigger positive charging at the cavity bottom, but rather exhibit the effect of relaxing positive potentials caused by the solar wind ions. The identified charging process, which is primarily due to the solar wind ions, is localized at the depths of the cavity and may be one possible scenario for generating intense electric fields inside the cavity. Plain Language Summary: Kinetic plasma simulations suggest that unconventional surface electrical charging conditions develop within deep cavities on the Moon and other airless planetary bodies, which are directly impacted by the solar wind. Due to their aligned directions of motion, ions are more likely to reach the innermost part of such deep cavities than thermal electrons without being lost at the cavity sidewall. The ion current at the bottom of a cavity with a high depth‐width aspect ratio tends to exceed the electron current. This generates a significant positive potential, similar in magnitude to the kinetic energy of solar wind ions and independent of the work done by photoelectron emissions. This positive charging process, primarily due to solar wind ions, is localized at depths in the cavities and may result in strong electric fields on the dayside of the Moon and asteroids. Key Points: Unconventional current balance is established between solar wind ion and electron at the bottom of deep cavities on the Moon and asteroidsCavity bottom surface could have significant positive potentials that are comparable to the kinetic energies of solar wind ionsPhotoelectrons no longer promote positive charging by themselves but rather relax the positive potentials at the cavity bottom [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]