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Background Blood pressure (BP) variability has reportedly been a risk factor for various clinical events. To clarify the influence of BP visit‐to‐visit variability on adverse events in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation, a post hoc analysis of the J‐RHYTHM Registry was performed. Methods and Results Of 7406 outpatients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation from 158 institutions, 7226 (age, 69.7±9.9 years; men, 70.7%), in whom BP was measured 4 times or more (14.6±5.0 times) during the 2‐year follow‐up period or until occurrence of an event, constituted the study group. SD and coefficient of variation of BP values were calculated as BP variability. Thromboembolism, major hemorrhage, and all‐cause death occurred in 110 (1.5%), 121 (1.7%), and 168 (2.3%) patients, respectively. When patients were divided into quartiles of systolic BP‐SD (P =0.015 for thromboembolism; HR, 2.60, 95% CI, 1.36–4.97, P =0.004 for major hemorrhage; and HR, 1.85, 95% CI, 1.11–3.07, P =0.018 for all‐cause death) after adjusting for components of the CHA 2 DS 2 ‐VASc score, warfarin and antiplatelet use, atrial fibrillation type, BP measurement times, and others. These findings were consistent when BP‐coefficient of variation was used instead of BP‐SD. Conclusions Systolic BP visit‐to‐visit variability was significantly associated with all adverse events in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation. Further studies are needed to clarify the causality between BP variability and adverse outcomes in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation. Registration URL: https://www.umin.ac.jp/ctr/ ; Unique Identifier: UMIN000001569.

We analysed associations between exposure to nightlife businesses and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 PCR test results at a tertiary hospital in Tokyo between March and April 2020. A nightlife group was defined as those who had worked at or visited the businesses. We included 1517 individuals; 196 (12.9%) were categorised as the nightlife group. After propensity score matching, the proportion of positive PCR tests in the nightlife group was significantly higher than that in the non-nightlife group (nightlife, 63.8%; non-nightlife, 23.0%; P < 0.001). An inclusive approach to mitigate risks related to the businesses needs to be identified.

The output characteristics of MEMS piezoelectric vibration energy harvesters (PVEHs) under random oscillations are analysed. We fabricated cantilever-type MEMS-PVEHs using Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 films. The autocorrelation function of the transient displacement of the cantilever tip under random oscillations features a narrow-band random vibration. From the power spectral density (PSD) of the output voltage of the PVEHs, the resonance frequency decreases and the full-width at half-maximum increases with increasing vibration acceleration. By comparing output properties under various sinusoidal oscillations, nonlinear effects including the soft-spring effect and nonlinear damping effect clearly influence the output characteristics under random oscillations. The power generation is proportional to the square of the vibration acceleration even in the acceleration region where nonlinear effects become conspicuous.

Background To clarify the influence of hypertension and blood pressure ( BP ) control on thromboembolism and major hemorrhage in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation, a post hoc analysis of the J‐ RHYTHM Registry was performed. Methods and Results A consecutive series of outpatients with atrial fibrillation was enrolled from 158 institutions. Of 7937 patients, 7406 with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (70.8% men, 69.8±10.0 years) were followed for 2 years or until an event occurred. Hypertension was defined as a systolic BP ≥140 mm Hg, a diastolic BP ≥90 mm Hg, a history of hypertension, and/or antihypertensive drug use. Hypertension was an independent risk factor for major hemorrhage (hazard ratio 1.52, 95% CI 1.05–2.21, P =0.027) but not for thromboembolism (hazard ratio 1.05, 95% CI 0.73–1.52, P =0.787). When patients were divided into quartiles according to their systolic BP at the time closest to the event or at the end of follow‐up (Q1, CI 1.75–4.74, P CI 1.02–2.53, P =0.041) after adjustment for components of CHA 2 DS 2 ‐ VAS c score, warfarin use, and antiplatelet use. A systolic BP of ≥136 mm Hg was an independent risk factor for thromboembolism and major hemorrhage. Conclusions BP control appears to be more important than a history of hypertension and baseline BP values at preventing thromboembolism and major hemorrhage in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation. Clinical Trial Registration URL : http://www.umin.ac.jp/ctr . Unique identifier: UMIN 000001569.

Full geometry optimizations of mixed-valence (MV) cubane Mn(III)4-ωMn(IV)ωO4 cluster (ω = 0–4) by UB3LYP have been performed to elucidate Jahn-Teller (JT) effects for the Mn(III) ions. The optimized geometries have elucidated acute triangle for Mn(III)2 Mn(X) (X = III,IV) core in the cubane, indicating the JT effect. The JT effect is not remakable for Mn(IV)2Mn(III) cores, showing obtuse triangle and it diminishes in Mn(IV)3 core with equilateral triangle. The replacement of one of Mn ions with Ca (or Sr) ion in the cubane structure has also been examined to elucidate multiple roles of Ca(II) ion. The Ca-doping suppresses the JT effect even for Mn(III)2Mn(X) (X = III,IV) core because acute CaMnMn triangles with longer Ca-Mn distances than the Mn-Mn distance are newly formed. The suppression of the JT effect for Mn(IV)2 Mn(III) by Ca doping is also found because of the same reason. The Ca-doped cubane in the CaMn4O5 cluster (1) of oxygen evolving complex (OEC) of photosystem II (PSII) exhibits two acute CaMnMn triangles and one almost equilateral CaMnMn triangle because of the elongation of the Mn1(d)-Mn3(b) distance with the coordination of the extra Mn4(a) ion to the cubane. The Mn1(d)Mn2(c)Mn3(b) triangle becomes obtuse because of the suppression of the JT effect, indicating the Mn1(d)(III)Mn2(c)(IV)Mn3(b)(IV) valence state in the S1 state of 1. The JT distortion for Mn(III) ions modified by the Ca(or Sr) doping is coupled with the labile structural deformation for intracluster electron transfers via double exchange mechanism in 1. The structural anomalies of 1 revealed by the new XRD experiment are also crucial for derivation of several guiding principles for theoretical modeling of water splitting reaction at OEC of PSII. The hybrid DFT computational results for 1 have also supported these guiding principles that provide possible orbital and spin correlation diagrams for water splitting reactions. The Huckel-Hubbard-Hund (HHH) model has been used for qualitative understanding of these diagrams. Implications of the present computational results are discussed in relation to electronic and spin states of redox active Ca-doped Mott insulators constructed with magnetic transition metals such as Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, etc. Strongly correlated electron systems (SCES) modified by doping of Ca, Sr, Zn, etc. have been elucidated as possible candidates of bio-inspired artificial catalysts for water oxidation. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

This theoretical study is complementary to previous experimental work (see D.-C. Che, F. Palazzetti, Y. Okuno, V. Aquilanti, T. Kasai, J. Phys. Chem. A 114 (2010) 3280) on the orientation and rotational state-selection of supersonic molecular beams of the asymmetric-top molecule propylene oxide, both pure and seeded (in He and in Ar) by using an 85-cm length hexapole state-selector. One objective is to obtain an accurate distribution of the rotational states after hexapole selection for the three molecular beams, the most relevant feature consisting in the evaluation of the variation in energy of the manifold of rotational states when an electric field is applied (the Stark forces). Previously, the Stark effect on the effective dipole moment was considered through second order for all rotational states, while in this work the energy derivatives of the rotational states with respect to the applied electric field, are obtained accurately by diagonalizing the very large Stark matrices, whose elements depend on the dipole moment components of the molecule. The Stark energies and the corresponding forces were calculated for values of the electric field between 0 and 80 kV cm −1 in steps of 0.5 kV cm −1 and then linearly interpolated, covering the whole experimental range of the hexapole. A treatment is given for the intricate pattern of avoided crossings among derivatives of the rotational levels and two limiting cases were considered, corresponding to transitions occurring either adiabatically or diabatically. The two treatments lead to slightly different distributions of the rotational states for the pure and Ar seeded molecular beams, while for the He seeded molecular beam the two distributions are substantially the same. This experimental arrangement is a perspective tool for experiments of photochemistry and scattering of oriented molecules and clusters, and therefore we calculated the orientational distributions in a configuration where a uniform electric field is placed between the hexapole field and the detector.

Several hybrid DFT methods were applied to full geometry optimizations of the CaMn4O4X(H2O)4 (XOH1− (1) or O2− (2)) cluster in the oxygen evolving complex (OEC) of photosystem II (PSII) to elucidate Mn-Mn, Mn-Ca, and Mn-O distances on a theoretical ground. The computed Mn-Mn distances were compared with previous (London and Berlin) X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Berkeley and Berlin EXAFS results, together with the recent high-resolution XRD structure by Umena and coworkers. Present computational results by the hybrid DFT methods have elucidated several differences among these accumulated results. These DFT results led us to reassign the Mn-Mn and Mn-Ca distances by the EXAFS experiments, which became consistent with the results obtained by the high-resolution XRD structure. A characteristic feature revealed via the optimized Mn-O distances was that the degree of symmetry breaking of the Mn1-O(57)-Mn4 bond is not so remarkable under the UBHandHLYP approximation but it can be large by other hybrid DFT methods. The computational results for 2 indicated reduction of the Mn3-Mn4 distance with the deprotonation of the bridging oxo group. The hybrid DFT results for 1 are not inconsistent with an experimental proposal based on the new XRD structure, namely a protonated μ3-oxygen at the internal O(57) site of the cluster in the S1 state. On the other hand, the reduction of Mn ions (not degradation of whole cluster structure) by the X-ray irradiation still remains an important issue for refinements of the XRD structure. The computational results are discussed in relation to those of the electron spin echo envelope modulation (ESEEM) and possible pathways for water splitting reaction. Implications of the present DFT structures are discussed in relation to the previous DFT and related computational results, together with recent XRD results for cubane-like model clusters for OEC of PSII. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

We assessed the applicability and basis set dependency of the B3LYP functional to investigate magnetic interactions of Mn complexes. For the purpose, we constructed a test set consisting of 16 Mn complexes with various oxidation states and structural motifs. The B3LYP results correctly reproduced magnetism and magneto–redox correlation of the standard μ-oxo motifs with superexchange paths, while it does not work for weak magnetic complexes. We also showed that a modest basis set yields results similar to those of triple-zeta plus diffuse-and-polarization functions. This basis set is expected to be a standard basis set for investigating magnetism of manganese complexes.

The manganese clusters have attracted much attention in relation with the oxygen evolving center (OEC) in photosystem II (PS II) system, which catalyzes the water oxidation reaction. Previously, we examined various spin-structures of Mn(II)4O4 model clusters, of which all of magnetic interactions are antiferromagnetic. In this study, we investigated electronic and magnetic structures of simple model clusters, Mn4O4(OAc)6 and Mn3CaO4(OAc)6 using spin unrestricted B3LYP (UB3LYP) method. The UB3LYP method is a standard tool for this study and has been in fact employed by many researchers. However, several peculiar features are observed for these model clusters: for instance the most stable spin state becomes the highest spin state for Mn(IV)4O4(OAc)6 although this model cluster consists of superexchange type of units, Mn(IV)2O2 that usually favors antiferromagnetic spin alignments. Implications of the comparative results are discussed in relation to the electrophilic (or radical) mechanism for the O–O bond formation in the OEC.

Very recently Umena et al. have determined the X-ray diffraction (XRD) structure of the CaMn4O5 cluster in the oxygen evolution complex (OEC) of photosystem II (PSII) refined to 1.9 A resolution. We have performed theoretical attempts to elucidate possible electronic and spin states of their new XRD structure of the CaMn4O5 cluster. For the purpose, hybrid density functional theory (UB3LYP and UBHandHLYP) calculations have been performed for the mixed-valence (MV) CaMn(III)4-ω(IV)ωO5(H2O)4 (1) and CaMn(III)4-ω(IV)ωO4(OH)(H2O)4 (2) clusters as active catalytic site for water splitting reaction in OEC of PSII. Full geometry optimizations of 1a (ω = 2) and 2a (ω = 2) have been performed to elucidate scope and limitation of the cluster models. Both charge and spin fluctuated structures (48 UB3LYP solutions) have been considered for the MV 1a (ω = 2). Total energies obtained by these calculations have elucidated quasi-degenerated electronic and spin states that are characterized by charge and spin density populations. The energy levels revealed by hybrid DFT are analyzed on the basis of the Heisenberg spin Hamiltonian model, providing the effective exchange integrals between manganese ions at a uniform or MV structure. The spin projections for hybrid DFT solutions are performed using the effective exchange integrals. The charge fluctuation model is introduced to analyze relative stabilities among MV structures of 1a and 2a. These computational results for 1a and 2a have explored several characteristic electronic properties of the species that are used for theoretical elucidation of possible mechanisms of water splitting reaction. Orbital and spin correlation diagrams are derived for the OO bond formation and oxygen evolution in the reaction. Implications of the computational results are also discussed in relation to available experiments and theoretical results by other groups. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2012

Recently, Umena et al. have revealed the X-ray diffraction structure of the CaMn4O5 cluster in the oxygen evolving complex (OEC) of photosystem II (PSII) refined to 1.9 A resolution. Their X-ray structure has first elucidated hydrogen-bonding networks and proton release pathways at OEC of PSII. Here, several working hypotheses (heuristic principles) for water splitting reaction are derived from their X-ray structure for theoretical modeling. These hypotheses suggest how water can be oxidized at OEC of PSII: namely possible reaction mechanisms for the reaction. To confirm them, we have also performed broken-symmetry (BS) UB3LYP calculations for active site models based on their XRD structure. The bond lengths of formal Mn(V)O with labile dπ-pπ bonds are optimized to clarify possible roles of the species that are often introduced as a key intermediate in the catalytic (Kok) cycle for water splitting reaction at OEC of PSII. Location of the transition structure for the oxygen-oxygen (OO) bond formation is also performed by the energy optimization technique. The natural orbital (NO) analysis of the UB3LYP solutions has been performed to obtain the natural molecular orbitals and their occupation numbers that have been useful for classification of localized d-electrons, labile chemical bonds and closed-shell (valence) orbitals. The localized d-electrons characterized by the NO analysis are the origins for the magnetism revealed by ENDOR and other magnetic experiments. On the other hand, the nature of labile (soft) dπ-pπ bonds responsible for the OO bond formation has been investigated on the basis of chemical indices such as effective bond order (b), diradical character (y), and spin density (Q) indices that are calculated using the orbital overlap between broken-symmetry orbitals. These chemical indices have been calculated for the transition structure of the OO bond formation at OEC of PSII. Implications of present computational results are discussed in relation to the derived hypotheses and available accumulated experimental results. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2012

Very recently Umena et al. have determined the X-ray diffraction (XRD) structure of the CaMn 4 O 5 cluster ( 1 ) in the oxygen-evolving complex (OEC) of photosystem II (PSII) refined to 1.9 A resolution. UB3LYP calculations of 1 using this XRD structure were performed to elucidate possible mechanisms for the oxygen–oxygen (O–O) bond formation in oxygen evolution reaction of PSII. The solutions obtained were used for natural orbital (NO) analysis to obtain LUMOs of labile chemical bonds, which clearly indicated the possibilities of nucleophilic attack of hydroxide (or water molecule) to the electrophilic O(56) and/or O(57) sites of 1 .

The Oka vaccine is a live attenuated vaccine for the prevention of varicella. Although the vaccine differs from the progenitor virus by over 40 mutations, only three of these are fixed, the rest being a mixture of the wild-type and the vaccine allele. To examine the extent of this variability between two of the three commercially available vaccine preparations, we analysed the vaccine/wild-type allele frequencies present at fifteen vaccine loci in five preparations each from two different manufacturers of the vOka vaccine. Our results suggest that differences in manufacturing processes between the two companies have resulted in significant variation in the frequencies of the vaccine/wild-type alleles in their vaccines. Yet despite these differences, the allele frequencies in the vaccines from the two companies are strongly correlated. We discuss the significance of these findings and the role of evolutionary processes that influence the production of this live attenuated vaccine.

UB3LYP calculations were first performed to elucidate electronic and spin structures of the CaMn4O5 cluster in the oxygen-evolving-complex of the PSII system refined to the 1.9 A X-ray resolution by Kamiya, Shen, and their collaborators. Eight different UB3LYP solutions with axial spin structures were constructed to obtain the energy levels of the cluster on the basis of their X-ray structure. The energy diagrams were analyzed in terms of the Heisenberg model that involves six effective-exchange integrals between manganese ions. Several characteristic features of the electronic states of the cluster are revealed from these theoretical investigations based on the UB3LYP calculations.

We have developed an animal model of learning and memory impairment associated with activation of microglia in the mouse brain. Injection of lipopolysaccharide into the CA1 region of the mouse hippocampus resulted in an increased production of inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin-1β. Immunostaining for interleukin-1β revealed an increase in the signal at 6 hr after lipopolysaccharide injection. Immunopositive cells for interleukin-1β were colocalized with those immunopositive for CD11b. When subacute lipopolysaccharide treatment (20 μg/2 μl/injection, bilaterally for 5 consecutive days) was performed, long-term activation of microglia and learning and memory deficits as evaluated using a step-through passive avoidance test were observed in the wild-type mice. Gene expression of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor NR1 and NR2A subunits was also decreased by the lipopolysaccharide treatment. In contrast, activation of microglia and the associated behavioral deficits were not observed in mice lacking interleukin-1α and -1β following the subacute lipopolysaccharide treatment, together with little change in the gene expression of NR1 and NR2A subunits. However, the subacute lipopolysaccharide treatment produced almost similar changes in those parameters in the tumor necrosis factor-α knockout mice as in the wild-type animals. The injection of interleukin-1β neutralizing antibody with lipopolysaccharide for 5 consecutive days resulted in the improvement of lipopolysaccharide-induced learning and memory deficits. These findings suggest that the expression of interleukin-1 plays an important role in lipopolysaccharide-induced activation of microglia and the associated functional deficits in learning and memory.

This letter describes a radiometric technique to evaluate the turbidity (suspended solids concentration, SSC) of terrestrial waters (e.g. irrigation canals, creeks, ponds, streams and small rivers) using a hand-held spectropolarimeter. A field experiment was conducted using a container of water with different turbidity levels. The intensity and degree of polarization of sunlight reflected from the water were measured in visible, near and short-wave infrared bands. The intensity of the reflected light and its non-polarized component were divided by the incident sunlight intensity to derive the radiant coefficient (Q, %), and the non-polarized radiant coefficient (Qnp, %), respectively. The Q and Qnp in several wavelength bands were regressed against measured values of SSC. The multiple regression model using multi-band Qnp is superior to a similar model using multi-band Q because the Qnp model does not need viewing angles as explanatory variables, whereas the model using Q requires these angles. A result from preliminary testing in real streams is also presented.

Single-nucleotide polymorphism at −670 of Fas gene promoter (A/G) was examined in a total of 354 blood samples from normal healthy women and gynecological cancer patients. They consisted of 95 normal, 83 cervical, 108 endometrial, and 68 ovarian cancer cases. Eighty-three patients with cervical cancer had statistically higher frequency of GG genotype and G allele than 95 controls (P= 0.0353 and 0.0278, respectively). There was no significant difference in the genotype or allele prevalence between control subjects and endometrial or ovarian cancer patients. The Fas −670 GG genotype was associated with an increased risk for the development of cervical cancer (OR = 2.56, 95% CI = 1.08–6.10) compared with the AA genotype. The G allele also increased the risk of cervical cancer (OR = 1.60, 95% CI = 1.05–2.43) compared with the A allele. Germ-line polymorphism of Fas gene promoter −670 may be associated with the risk of cervical cancer in a Japanese population.

We have numerically and experimentally studied on the Josephson-vortex flow in stacks of intrinsic Josephson junctions in Bi/sub 2/Sr/sub 2/CaCu/sub 2/O/sub y/ single crystals. Numerical simulations of static and dynamic behavior of Josephson vortices in such a stack were carried out by using perturbed coupled sine-Gordon equations. The current-voltage characteristics of the stacks in the single-crystal mesas were measured without or with magnetic field B up to 4.5 T parallel to the junction layers at 4.2 K. It has been observed that the vortex flow tends to occur preferably in the highest velocity mode (in-phase mode) only in several junctions in the stack in low B below /spl sim/1 T, in intermediate velocity modes in more junctions in it in intermediately higher B and preferably in the lowest velocity mode (out-of-phase mode) in almost all junctions in it in much higher B above /spl sim/2.5 T, accompanied by a decrease in flow velocity from /spl sim/2.5/spl times/10/sup 6/ to (2-5)/spl times/10/sup 5/ m/s with increasing Bfs. This behavior of vortices can be interpreted to arise from an increase in interaction among vortices in the stack with the increase in B, according to the simulated results.

To verify the hypothesis that stimulation of the nucleus basalis of Meynert (NBM) induces vasodilation in the cerebral cortical parenchyma, we investigated whether the diameter of parenchymal blood vessels of rat parietal cortex is increased during stimulation of NBM using histological techniques. The parietal cortex was fixed by immersion fixation in situ during focal electrical stimulation of the NBM, which increased cortical blood flow. Cortical tissues were sectioned horizontally to the cortical surface, and the parenchymal blood vessels were morphometrically analyzed using electron microscopy. Mean inner diameter of the parenchymal blood vessels in NBM stimulated rats (5.51+/-0.33 microm) was significantly larger than that in non-stimulated control rats (4.93+/-0.23 microm). The result suggests that functional vasodilation in the cortical parenchyma during NBM stimulation correlates with histologically observed vasodilation in the cortical parenchyma.

The conductivities of the Zn1−x−y M x M′ y O (M, M′ = Al, In, Ga, Y) and Zn1−x M x O (M = Al, In, Ga) systems were measured from room temperature to 1173 K in order to elucidate a dominant parameter of the conducting mechanism. The conductivity at 873 K first increased with the dopant content. However, it showed a maximum value at a given dopant content, and then gradually decreased. For the samples with the same dopant content, their conductivity at 873 K was strongly dependent on the mean dopant-ion radii, and reached a maximum value at around 0.51 A of the mean dopant-ion radii. The results suggested that the conductivity of the system would be influenced not only by the dopant content, but also by the mean dopant-ion radii. It was found that the co-doped ZnO system of Zn0.995Al0.003In0.003O had a conductivity higher than that of the other usual mono-doped system.

Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) in-situ observation of fatigue damage process of SiC/SiC composites was carried out at room and elevated temperatures. Although single edge V-notched specimens were used, fatigue crack initiated not only at the notch root but also at large pores far from the notch. The widespread damage means that the parameter of linear elastic fracture mechanics cannot be used to describe fatigue crack growth behavior of SiC/SiC materials. Instead, modulus of rigidity (MOR) may be used as a parameter to estimate fatigue damage process. The crack behavior was divided into two types of damage modes depending on the orientation of fiber bundles in front of a notch. No matter which type of damage mode, the final failure occurred at about 85% of the maximum value of MOR.

Endogenous retroviruses (ERV), or the remnants of past retroviral infections that are no longer active, are found in the genomes of most vertebrates, typically constituting approximately 10% of the genome. In some vertebrates, particularly in shorter-lived species like rodents, it is not unusual to find active endogenous retroviruses. In longer-lived species, including humans where substantial effort has been invested in searching for active ERVs, it is unusual to find them; to date none have been found in humans. Presumably the chance of detecting an active ERV infection is a function of the length of an ERV epidemic. Intuitively, given that ERVs or signatures of past ERV infections are passed from parents to offspring, we might expect to detect more active ERVs in species with longer generation times, as it should take more years for an infection to run its course in longer than in shorter lived species. This means the observation of more active ERV infections in shorter compared to longer-lived species is paradoxical. We explore this paradox using a modeling approach to investigate factors that influence ERV epidemic length. Our simple epidemiological model may explain why we find evidence of active ERV infections in shorter rather than longer-lived species.

Following the recent availability of high-coverage genomes for Denisovan and Neanderthal hominids, we conducted a screen for endogenized retroviruses, identifying six novel, previously unreported HERV-K(HML2) elements (HERV-K is human endogenous retrovirus K). These elements are absent from the human genome (hg38) and appear to be unique to archaic hominids. These findings provide further evidence supporting the recent activity of the HERV-K(HML2) group, which has been implicated in human disease. They will also provide insights into the evolution of archaic hominids.

Atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumor of the brain is a rare embryonal tumor of infancy which has become more widely recognized due to specific immunostaining now more routinely available. These tumors still carry a poor prognosis and no standard therapy is currently available. However, the recent development of aggressive multimodality strategies seems to be associated with improved survival rates. In this chapter, we provide a review of our current knowledge on the demographics and epidemiology, pathology, and molecular characteristics. We review each individual therapeutic modality used (surgery, conventional chemotherapy, high-dose chemotherapy with stem cell rescue, intrathecal chemotherapy, and radiation) and the contribution of each to outcome when available. We provide an overview of the most recent therapeutic trials published and discuss the future options in development.

Selection and alignment of rotamers and, more in general, of conformers in the gas phase is a challenge that we tackle experimentally by supersonic expansion of seeded molecular beams and hexapolar electrostatic fields with quadrupole mass detection. The studied system involves the nine conformers of the asymmetric-top molecule 2-butanol, which coexist because of nearly free rotations around a CC and a CO bond. From the measured time-of-flight of a 2-butanol supersonic molecular beam seeded in either He or Ar, the corresponding velocity distributions are obtained. The different nature and masses of the seeding gas decrease selectively the vibrational temperature and determine the population of the conformers, which is assessed on the basis of their statistical distribution, derived from high level accompanying quantum mechanical calculations. The use of a hexapolar electrostatic field permits us to induce a variation of the population distribution as a function of the applied voltage and of the selective focusing and alignment of the conformers. A technique, recently developed for treating asymmetric tops and involving extensive trajectory simulations, is applied to obtain the link between the focusing curves, i.e. the dependence of the beam intensity on the hexapole voltage, and the conformers' populations and alignment. Perspectives are provided for photo- and stereo-dynamics experiments, particularly appealing also on account that 2-butanol is the simplest chiral alcohol. © the Partner Organisations 2014.

For the development of new materials by SR technology, a new beamline was designed at the BL-7 of New SUBARU. This beamline consists of two branch lines, which are provided with an incident beam from a 3 m undulator by switching the first mirror. One of them is a high photon-flux beamline with a multilayered-mirror monochromator for the study of SR-process (BL7A) and another is a high-resolution beamline with a varied line spacing grating monochromator for the evaluation of nano-structure characteristics by SR-spectroscopy (BL7B). The useful range of emitted photons from 50 to 800 eV is covered at both beamlines.

We investigated the wind-up phenomenon of the flexor reflex in adult and aged rats. The sural nerve was stimulated at C-fiber strength and reflex activity was recorded from the semitendinosus muscle. The wind-up rate, the increment rate of the C-fiber response (i.e. activity from 100 to 600 ms after stimulation) by successive stimuli (five train pulses), was decreased exponentially with increasing stimulus intervals from 3 to 20 s. The time constant of the decay for the aged rats was 9.2±3.2 s (mean±SD), which was significantly longer than for the adult rats (6.4±2.9 s). The findings indicate that the effects of C-fiber activation on the spinal nociceptive pathways attenuate more slowly in aged rats as compared with adult rats.

When Ipomoea nil was coinfected with Sweet potato feathery mottle virus (SPFMV), a member of the genus Potyvirus, and Potato virus X (PVX) typical symptoms caused by PVX were observed on those by SPFMV on the first upper true leaves at 14 days postinoculation (dpi). On the other hand, no PVX-induced symptoms were observed on the first upper true leaves at 14 dpi when plants were infected with PVX alone. In the case of coinfection with PVX and SPFMV, PVX RNA was detected not only in the inoculated cotyledonary leaves but also in the first upper true leaves at 14 dpi. In the case of single infection with PVX, PVX RNA was detected in the inoculated cotyledonary leaves but not in the first upper true leaves at 14 dpi. The accumulation of SPFMV remained unchanged, regardless of whether the inoculum consisted of SPFMV alone or a mixture of SPFMV and PVX. Although recombinant PVX engineered to express the helper component-proteinase (HC-Pro) of SPFMV (PVX.HC) enhanced symptoms severity in Nicotiana benthamiana, PVX.HC induced the synergism characterized by an enhanced viral movement in Ipomoea nil. Immunofluorescence microscopic examination revealed that the HC-Pro was present in phloem of SPFMV-infected I. nil. These results suggest that SPFMV HC-Pro acts as an enhancer of long distance movement for PVX in I. nil.