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Abstract: Free-ranging raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes procyonoides) from Nogeyama Zoological Gardens, Kanazawa Zoological Gardens, and Yokohama Zoological Gardens frequently rescued dogs having Sarcoptes scabiei infestation. However, the epidemiology of S. scabiei infestation has not yet been elucidated. In the present study, we investigated the epidemiology of S. scabiei infestation in raccoon dogs and its influence on the population of masked palm civets in Yokohama, Japan. We examined records of raccoon dog rescue between 1981 and 2010 and classified the dogs into the following 4 categories on the basis of the reason for rescue: dogs with S. scabiei infestation, scabies-infested dogs involved in car accidents, uninfested dogs involved in car accidents, and other reasons for rescue. We found that the number of dogs rescued due to car accidents and other reasons increased from 1989 onwards, and an S. scabiei outbreak was recorded since 1993. The infestation spread from the southern to the northern regions of Yokohama. The total number of raccoon dogs rescued annually peaked in 1995 and declined thereafter. The number of masked palm civets (Paguma larvata) rescued gradually increased with a decline in the number of raccoon dogs rescued. In the present study, we revealed the epidemiology of S. scabiei infestation in the raccoon dog. The outbreak might be induced by the increased population density, and the infestation spread immediately from the southern to the northern regions of Yokohama since 1993. Further, the population of masked palm civets may have increased due to the decrease in the population of the raccoon dog. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: As one of the programs in the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) project regarding R&D on superconducting coated conductor, three-phase superconducting fault current limiter (SFCL) for 6.6kV application was developed and successfully tested. The developed SFCL was mainly comprised three-phase set of current limiting coils installed in a sub-cooled nitrogen cryostat with a GM cryocooler, circuit breakers and a sequence circuit. The whole system was installed in a cubicle. Two tapes of coated conductor were wound in parallel in each coil to obtain the rated current of 72Arms. After developing the whole SFCL system, short circuit experiments were implemented with a short circuit generator. In a three-line ground fault test, the SFCL successfully restricted the prospected short circuit current over 1.6kA to about 800A by the applied voltage of 6.6kV. The SFCL was installed in a user field and connected with a gas engine generator, followed by a consecutive operation. In this program, 600A class FCL coil, with which four coated conductor tapes were wound, was also developed. The coil showed sufficiently low AC loss at the rated current. With these results, the program attained the planned target of the fundamentals for the 6.6kV/600A SFCL. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Extensive literature survey on two-phase flow experiment using 12 m or longer vertical tube was conducted. • Experiments were conducted on two-phase flow regime observation, void fraction and frictional pressure drop measurement over a long channel length under high-pressure brine conditions. • The transition of flow regime took place at higher superficial gas velocity under brine conditions. • Through drift-flux model analysis, change in gas velocity under brine conditions was confirmed. • New frictional pressure drop model at high-pressure two-phase flow under brine conditions is proposed. The offshore methane hydrate production test conducted in Japan has demonstrated a successful production of methane gas from marine gas hydrates using depressurization methods. The method produces methane gas by dissociating methane hydrate, which is stable at low temperature and high pressure conditions, by lowering the bottom-hole pressure in the wellbore. Under this method, stable control of bottom-hole pressure is necessary to ensure continuous methane gas production. Therefore, understanding the behavior of upward gas–liquid two-phase flow, involving gas-brine mixture, in a wellbore is essential for the proper pressure drop evaluation in the production line. In the present study, void fraction and frictional pressure drop behaviors under nitrogen-brine two-phase flow conditions is investigated using the high-pressure test facility of 52.7 mm inner diameter and 28 m height. The measured void fraction was assessed using drift-flux model, and the results showed that the decrease in bubble diameter under bubbly flow in gas-brine two-phase flow conditions resulted in decrease in bubble rise velocity and uniformity of bubble distribution. It was also found that, under bubbly flow in gas-brine mixture, the frictional pressure drop tends to further decrease with elevation. Based on these findings and obtained experimental dataset, the new frictional pressure model for gas-brine two-phase flow under high-pressure conditions is developed in the present study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The purpose of this study is to investigate the association of subjective sleepiness and severity of sleep-disordered breathing among truck drivers in Japan. Materials and methods: Age adjusted subjective daytime sleepiness was not significantly related to the severity of sleep-disordered breathing in this population (p =0.36). Among the subjects who had severe sleep-disordered breathing (RDI⩾20), ESS score of non-sleepiness and moderate sleepiness was 56.3% and 34.4% respectively. For the BMI stratified analysis, prevalence of non-sleepiness and moderate sleepiness for severe sleep-disordered breathing was 60.0% and 30.0% for <25kg/m2, and 54.6% and 36.4% for ⩾25kg/m2. Results: Age adjusted subjective daytime sleepiness was not significantly related to the severity of sleep-disordered breathing in this population (p =0.36). Among the subjects who had severe sleep-disordered breathing (RDI⩾20), ESS score of non-sleepiness and moderate sleepiness was 56.3% and 34.4% respectively. For the BMI stratified analysis, prevalence of non-sleepiness and moderate sleepiness for severe sleep-disordered breathing was 60.0% and 30.0% for <25kg/m2, and 54.6% and 36.4% for ⩾25kg/m2. Conclusion: The results of our study showed that more than 90% of the participants who had severe sleep-disordered breathing did not have severe daytime sleepiness. Objective screening for sleep-disordered breathing is_ important even if the drivers have no subjective sleepiness. Acknowledgements: We are indebted to Mr. Shuzo Fujioka, the president of Nara Trucking Association for great effort. This study was supported in part by grants from the International Association of Traffic and Safety Sciences Grant No. H2422, from the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (Grant-in-Aid for research B: 22390134 in 2010–2012, Grant-in-Aid for research C: 23590796 in 2011–2013), and from the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science, and by Health and Labour Sciences Research Grants from the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Labour, Japan. (Comprehensive Research on Life- Style Related Diseases including Cardiovascular Diseases and Diabetes Mellitus 201021038A in 2010–2012). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]