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Farmlands are becoming more important as waterfowl foraging habitats, while natural wetlands are being lost globally. However, it is unclear how waterfowl coexist in agricultural landscapes by resource partitioning. We evaluated the diets of seven sympatric dabbling ducks foraging in rice paddy and lotus fields around Lake Kasumigaura, the second largest lake in Japan, during two wintering seasons (from November to February) by faecal DNA metabarcoding using chloroplast trnL and mitochondrial CO1 region sequences. We examined 420 faecal samples and found different patterns of dietary diversity and composition among the duck species. The pattern also differed between plant and invertebrate food. Dietary niche partitioning was clear in plant food. Large-bodied ducks intensively use crop plants, and other ducks might mediate competition by using terrestrial and aquatic plants that are suitable for their foraging behaviours or microhabitats. Dietary segregation among species was the most apparent in February, when the abundance of foraging ducks was the largest. This study illustrated the complex pattern of dietary niche partitioning of dabbling ducks in agricultural landscapes, which might be difficult to evaluate by conventional approaches. The availability of crop plants, as well as other plant food resources in flooted areas and farmland dikes, may enable ducks to coexist by spatial or behavioural resource partitioning.

High Mn austenitic steel is expected to be a next-generation structural material for cryogenic use by maintaining a stable fcc crystal structure even at cryogenic temperatures by adding a large amo...

High-Mn austenitic steel is expected to be a next-generation structural material for cryogenic use by maintaining a stable fcc crystal structure even at cryogenic temperature by adding a large amou...

Background: A critical event in age-related diseases involves the glycation of various proteins in the animal body to generate advanced glycation end products (AGEs). We have previously found that black raspberry extract (BRE) has effects on age-related diseases. From this observation, we expected that berry extracts, specifically BRE, would have positive effects on AGE-stimulated cell events that link to age-related diseases. Objective: To discuss the potency of berry extracts against diseases attributable to the AGE-dependent changes of cellular events, in this study, we examined the effects of berry extracts on the cellular events changed upon AGE stimulation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) through AGE receptors. Methods: After HUVECs were incubated with AGE-BSA in the presence of serially diluted berry extracts, mRNA and protein levels of AGE receptors, intracellular AGE accumulation, and ROS production in the cell were determined by qRT-PCR and Western blotting, ELISA, and staining with the fluorescent probe, respectively. Results: Although concentration-dependent effects of berry extracts tested on mRNA levels of AGE receptors in HUVECs were not clear, mRNA level of the AGE receptor RAGE that is involved in the intracellular ROS production was increased by Blabina, which contains BRE, and the well-known anti-glycation compound aminoguanidine (AGD). In contrast, the protein expression level of RAGE was decreased by BRE and Blabina, but not by AGD. It was also found that BRE and Blabina suppressed AGE-BSA-stimulated ROS production in HUVECs. The extent of inhibition in the RAGE protein expression by BRE and Blabina was correlated well with the ROS generation measured in these samples. Conclusions: The results obtained in this study demonstrate that BRE has the most potent inhibitory effect on ROS accumulation in the cell, probably due to the suppression in the expression level of the RAGE protein. These observations suggest that black raspberry could be a potential nutraceutical to prevent various age-related diseases. Keywords: AGEs; RAGE; ROS; black raspberry; HUVECs.

In multi-pass welding of high manganese austenitic steel, weld metal is solidified in austenite single phase and hot cracking may occur depending on residual stress. In order to identify the cracki...

Background To further improve rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treatment, it is necessary to understand each RA patient’s satisfaction and to identify the factors affecting their satisfaction. Despite the rise in medical costs for RA, little is known about the factors that influence patient satisfaction with the cost of treatment in RA patients. Methods This is a multicenter observational study of Japanese RA patients from the FRANK Registry with data analyzed from March 2017 to August 2020. We collected data on demographic characteristics, clinical data, quality of life which was evaluated using the EuroQol 5-dimensional questionnaire (EQ5D), and patient satisfaction. The four categories of patient satisfaction were evaluated individually (i.e., cost, treatment efficacy, activities of daily living [ADL], and global treatment satisfaction). We analyzed the factors that affected each patient’s satisfaction, such as age, sex, EQ5D, disease duration, disease activity, and treatment. Results This study included 2235 RA outpatients (406 males, 1829 females). In RA patients, “very satisfied” and “satisfied” were given for nearly half of each satisfaction aspect (cost 49%; efficacy 72%; ADL 58%; global treatment 66%) at the time of the initial registration. To investigate the factors influencing each satisfaction, multivariate analysis has revealed that the use of b/tsDMARDs increased satisfaction of treatment effect (odds ratio [OR] 0.66) and ADL (OR 0.78) but decreased cost satisfaction (OR 2.21). Age (50–64 years; OR 0.91; 65–74 years, 0.55: ≥ 75 years, 0.35), female (OR 0.81), and history of musculoskeletal surgery (OR 0.60) all increased cost satisfaction. Patients with lower disease activity and higher EQ5D scores had higher levels of satisfaction in all areas. Conclusions In this study, patient satisfaction in terms of cost, treatment effect, ADL, and overall treatment was generally higher, but some patients were dissatisfied. The cost of satisfaction increased with age and a history of musculoskeletal surgery, while it decreased with a lower EQ5D score and the use of b/tsDMARDs.

Varestraint test is one of the most-used methods to evaluate weld solidification cracking susceptibility. However, the standard about the detailed test method and the evaluation method has not been ...

MeV gamma-rays provide a unique window for the direct measurement of line emissions from radioisotopes, but observations have made little significant progress since COMPTEL on board the Compton Gamma-ray Observatory (CGRO). To observe celestial objects in this band, we are developing an electron-tracking Compton camera (ETCC) that realizes both bijective imaging spectroscopy and efficient background reduction gleaned from the recoil-electron track information. The energy spectrum of the observation target can then be obtained by a simple ON–OFF method using a correctly defined point-spread function on the celestial sphere. The performance of celestial object observations was validated on the second balloon SMILE-2+ , on which an ETCC with a gaseous electron tracker was installed that had a volume of 30 × 30 × 30 cm3. Gamma-rays from the Crab Nebula were detected with a significance of 4.0σ in the energy range 0.15–2.1 MeV with a live time of 5.1 hr, as expected before launch. Additionally, the light curve clarified an enhancement of gamma-ray events generated in the Galactic center region, indicating that a significant proportion of the final remaining events are cosmic gamma-rays. Independently, the observed intensity and time variation were consistent with the prelaunch estimates except in the Galactic center region. The estimates were based on the total background of extragalactic diffuse, atmospheric, and instrumental gamma-rays after accounting for the variations in the atmospheric depth and rigidity during the level flight. The Crab results and light curve strongly support our understanding of both the detection sensitivity and the background in real observations. This work promises significant advances in MeV gamma-ray astronomy.