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Background Distal radius fractures are often the first fractures experienced by adults with osteoporosis, and such fractures provide an opportunity for treatment to prevent a domino effect of future fractures. Most of these fractures result from falls, which may be related to the individual's limb muscle mass, strength, and exercise capacity. Active vitamin D3 positively affects muscle and bone mass. However, the effect of a bone resorption inhibitor is unknown. This study aimed to determine the effects of eldecalcitol alone or a bone resorption inhibitor with eldecalcitol on bone mass, limb muscle mass, and exercise capacity of osteoporotic patients with distal radius fractures and to identify the preventive effects against future fractures. Methods Participants were postmenopausal women(n = 99) with distal radius fractures who visited the orthopedics outpatient department in a city general hospital from April 2015 to October 2017. Bone mass, limb muscle mass, skeletal muscle mass index, and muscle strength (grip strength and quadriceps muscle strength), walking speed, 2-step results, and timed up and go tests results were evaluated before and after 1 year of treatment. The instances of fall recurrence and refracture were investigated using a questionnaire. Results Eighty-five patients completed follow-up assessments for 1 year. After treatment, bone mass and bone mineral density were significantly improved in the lumbar spine and total proximal femur compared to before treatment. Furthermore, skeletal muscle mass index, grip strength on the unaffected side, quadriceps muscle strength, walking speed and 2-step test results after 1 year of treatment were significantly improved. Nineteen and 4 patients experienced fall recurrence and refracture, respectively. Conclusions Eldecalcitol alone or a bone resorption inhibitor with eldecalcitol improved bone mass and bone mineral density, and maintained skeletal muscle mass index, muscle strength, and exercise capacity of osteoporotic patients with distal radius fractures.

Prevention of domino effects after distal radius fractures is important for improving life expectancy. Fragility fractures secondary to falls are associated with decreased bone mineral density, muscle strength, and exercise capacity. Grip strength is one of the simplest and most useful tests to comprehensively judge muscle strength. The purpose of this study was to examine whether grip strength is associated with bone mineral density, limb muscle mass, muscle strength, and exercise capacity, by comparing patient backgrounds based on the presence or absence of grip weakness in female patients with distal radius fractures.This study included women with distal radius fractures who visited our orthopedics outpatient department between April 2015 and April 2020. Bone mineral density, limb muscle mass, skeletal muscle mass index, muscle strength (grip strength on unaffected side and quadriceps muscle strength), the Timed Up and Go test, and the Two-Step test were evaluated six to eight weeks after injury. Patients were divided into two groups according to the cutoff value of grip strength (18-21 kg), and 90 age-adjusted and matched participants were compared and examined.At the cutoff value of 18 kg, a significant decrease in lumbar spine and total proximal femur bone mineral density (p 0.05, p 0.05), limb muscle mass and skeletal muscle mass index (p 0.01, p 0.05), quadriceps femoris muscle strength (p 0.01), the Timed Up and Go test (p 0.05), and the Two-Step test (p 0.01), was observed in the grip-weakness group compared to that in the no-grip-weakness group.In women with distal radius fracture and grip strength18 kg on the unaffected side, bone mineral density, limb muscle mass, quadriceps femoris strength, and exercise capacity may be reduced. These results suggest reduced grip strength may be an indicator for further testing to prevent domino effects.

Coherent double neutral-pion photoproduction on the deuteron, γ d → π 0 π 0 d , has been experimentally studied at incident photon energies ranging from 0.75 to 1.15 GeV. The total cross section as a function of the γd center-of-mass energy shows resonance-like behavior, which peaks at approximately 2.47 and 2.63 GeV. The measured angular distribution of deuteron emission is rather flat, which cannot be reproduced by the kinematics of quasi-free π 0 π 0 production with deuteron coalescence. In π 0 d invariant-mass distributions, a clear peak is observed at 2.14 ± 0.01 GeV / c 2 with a width of 0.09 ± 0.01 GeV / c 2 . The spin-parity of this state is restricted to 1 + , 2 + or 3 − from the angular distributions of the two π 0 s. The present work shows strong evidence for the existence of an isovector dibaryon resonance with a mass of 2.14 GeV / c 2 . The 2 + assignment is consistent with the theoretically predicted D 12 state, and also with the energy dependence of the πd partial-wave amplitude P 2 3 for the π ± d → π ± d and π + d → p p reactions.

There has been a lack of research into conceptually teaching the structure of contextual problems to kindergarten students. This is despite the popularity of contextual problems and the difficulties that students have with them. This study focuses on creating a textless, image-based application that uses the Triplet Structure Model to teach about the structure of contextual problems. This model has been successfully used in the past to teach Japanese elementary school students. The pilot study suggests that young children are successful at learning about the structure of contextual problems by using the application. The results suggest that users’ interactions are not thoughtless and that the interactions improve as they use the application.

The ΛN interaction is able to be studied with Λ hypernuclei. A missing mass spectroscopy with the (e, e′K+) reaction was developed and established at Jefferson Lab. The (e, e′K+) experiment achieved the best precision and accuracy in reaction spectroscopy of hypernuclei. In this article, we introduce the latest results of JLab E05-115 with a discussion of the ΛN charge symmetry breaking in p-shell hypernuclei. In addition, an analysis status of the nnΛ search experiment (JLab E12-17-003) is presented. An overview of one of future plans in which we aim to accurately measure the hypertriton binding energy (JLab C12-19-002) is also shown.

Photoproduction of the $\omega$ meson on the proton has been experimentally studied near the threshold. The total cross sections are determined at incident energies ranging from 1.09 to 1.15 GeV. The 1/2 and 3/2 spin-averaged scattering length $a_{\omega p}$ and effective range $r_{\omega p}$ between the $\omega$ meson and proton are estimated from the shape of the total cross section as a function of the incident photon energy: $a_{\omega p} = \left(-0.97^{+0.16_{\rm stat}}_{-0.16_{\rm stat}}{}^{+0.03_{\rm syst}}_{-0.00_{\rm syst}}\right)+i \left(0.07^{+0.15_{\rm stat}}_{-0.14_{\rm stat}}{}^{+0.17_{\rm syst}}_{-0.09_{\rm syst}}\right)$ fm and $r_{\omega p}=\left(+2.78^{+0.68_{\rm stat}}_{-0.54_{\rm stat}}{}^{+0.11_{\rm syst}}_{-0.13_{\rm syst}}\right)+i\left(-0.01^{+0.46_{\rm stat}}_{-0.50_{\rm stat}}{}^{+0.07_{\rm syst}}_{-0.00_{\rm syst}}\right)$ fm, resulting in a repulsive force. The real and imaginary parts for $a_{\omega p}$ and $r_{\omega p}$ are determined separately for the first time. A small $P$-wave contribution does not affect the obtained values.

The non-strange \(B=2\) system (dibaryon) has been studied using coherent neutral-meson photoproduction from the deuteron, \(\gamma d\rightarrow \pi ^0\pi ^0d\) and \(\gamma d\rightarrow \pi ^0\eta d\), measured with the FOREST detector at the ELPH facility. A rather flat angular distribution of deuteron emission and a peak in the \(\pi ^0d\) invariant-mass distribution give evidence for the 2.15-GeV isovector dibaryon. The excitation function of the total cross section as a function of the \(\gamma d\) center-of-mass energy for the former reaction shows the evidence for the existence of 2.47- and 2.63-GeV isoscalar dibaryons.

Although the ω meson is one of the best established hadrons, its fundamental properties such as the interaction with the nucleon is not known yet due to the difficulties in realizing scattering experiments. Recently, we have performed high-precision photoproduction experiment of the ω meson from the proton near the threshold. The total cross sections are determined at incident energies ranging from 1.08 to 1.15 GeV. The 1/2 and 3/2 spin-averaged scattering length aωN and effective range rωN between the ω meson and nucleon are extracted from the excitation function of the total cross section using a model with the final-state ωN interaction based on the Lippmann-Schwinger equation. The obtained values are aωp=(−0.97−0.16+0.16)+i(0.07−0.14+0.15) fm and rωp=(+2.78−0.54+0.68)+i(−0.01−0.50+0.46) fm, suggesting a strong repulsion force.

The current experimental information about interactions between the \(\eta \) meson and nucleon (N) is not enough to understand the nature of the \(\eta \) meson in a nucleus. We installed a new spectrometer and started an experiment to determine the \(\eta N\) scattering parameters at the Research Center for Electron Photon Science, Tohoku University. We present the current status of the experiment.

The lifetime of a Λ particle embedded in a nucleus (hypernucleus) decreases from that of free Λ decay mainly due to the opening of the Λ N → N N weak decay channel. However, it is generally believed that the lifetime of a hypernucleus attains a constant value (saturation) for medium to heavy hypernuclear masses, yet this hypothesis has been difficult to verify. This paper presents a direct measurement of the lifetime of medium-heavy hypernuclei that were hyper-fragments produced by fission or break-up from heavy hypernuclei initially produced with a 2.34 GeV photon-beam incident on thin Fe, Cu, Ag, and Bi target foils. For each event, fragments were detected in coincident pairs by a low-pressure multi-wire proportional chamber system. The lifetime was extracted from decay time spectrum formed by the difference of the time zeros between the pairs. The measured lifetime from each target is actually a statistical average over a range of mass with mean about 1/2 of the target mass and appears to be a constant of about 200 ps. Although this result cannot exclude unexpected shorter or longer lifetimes for some specific hypernuclei or hypernuclear states, it shows that a systematic decrease in lifetime as hypernuclear mass increases is not a general feature for hypernuclei with mean mass up to A ≈ 130 . On the other hand, the success of this experiment and its technique shows that the time delayed fissions observed and used by all the lifetime measurements done so far on heavy hypernuclei could likely have originated from hyper-fragments lighter than the assumed masses.

An electromagnetic calorimeter complex, FOREST, has been constructed for meson photoproduction experiments at the Research Center for Electron Photon Science, Tohoku University. It consists of three types of calorimeters, which are made of pure cesium-iodide crystals, lead scintillating-fiber modules, and lead glass Cherenkov counters. Each calorimeter is equipped with a plastic scintillator hodoscope to identify charged particles. The design and performance of FOREST are described. The energy responses of test calorimeters have been investigated by using 100–800 MeV positron beams. The energy resolutions of the three calorimeters are found to be approximately 3%, 7%, and 5% for 1-GeV photons, respectively. A cryogenic hydrogen/deuterium target system fitted to the FOREST experiments and a newly developed data acquisition system are also presented.

Aim Although the effects of pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) have been well defined for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), it remains controversial whether PR improves physical activity (PA). The purpose of the present study was to identify factors associated with the effect of PR on PA. Methods This was a prospective study of 29 patients with COPD. They underwent pulmonary rehabilitation twice weekly for 12 weeks, and were assessed using the hospital anxiety and depression score, 6-min walk distance (6MWD), and the St. George Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) before and after they underwent PR. The PA of patients was measured by a three-axis accelerometer. Physical activity level (PAL) was calculated by dividing each patient's total energy expenditure by basal metabolic rate. Correlations between changes in PAL after PR and 6MWD, St. George Respiratory Questionnaire, and hospital anxiety and depression score scores, and clinical parameters, including forced expiratory volume in 1 s were determined. Results 6MWD was significantly increased, but PAL was unchanged after PR. PAL was positively correlated with 6MWD, but not with percent predicted forced expiratory volume in 1 s nor St. George Respiratory Questionnaire scores before PR. The increase in PAL was negatively correlated with changes in hospital anxiety and depression score anxiety and depression scores, but was not correlated with the change in 6MWD. Conclusions A PR program for COPD patients improved results of the 6MWD, but not PAL. Increased PAL was associated with improvements in anxiety and depression, but not with increased exercise capacity. Treating the depression and anxiety of patients with COPD might not only reduce emotional distress, but also improve their PAL. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2017; 17: 17–23.

The B = 2 bound/resonance state (dibaryon) is an interesting object, which can be a molecule consisting of two baryons or a spatially compact hexaquark hadron object. The yd ^ n°n°d reaction has been experimentally investigated at incident energies ranging from 0.58 to 1.15 GeV to study non-strange dibaryons. The angular distributions of deuteron emission in the yd center-of-mass energy cannot be reproduced by quasi-free production of two neutral pions followed by deuteron coalescence. Additionally a 2.14-GeV peak is observed in the n°d invariant mass distribution. These suggest a sequential process such as yd ^ RIS ^ n°RIV ^ n°n°d with an isoscalar dibaryon RIS and an isovector dibaryon RIV. Since the mass of the observed isoscalar dibaryons are close to the sum of the nucleon (N) and nucleon resonance (N*) masses, an S-wave NN* molecule may play a role as a doorway to a dibaryon.

Aim To evaluate the influence of comorbidities and aging on pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) efficacy in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Methods This was a retrospective cohort study of patients with COPD attending an outpatient PR program. Comorbidity information was collected with the Charlson Index, BODE index and COPD-specific comorbidity test, and also included other common conditions not included in these indexes. The efficacy of PR was defined as a 54-m increase in 6-min walk distance or a four-point decrease in St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire score. Patients were divided into two age groups according to the median age of 72 years. Results A total of 21 of 52 patients (40%) showed a clinically significant benefit by the 6-min walk distance, and 29 patients (55.8%) by the St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire score. PR efficacy was not different between the elderly group and the younger group by either parameter. A total of 98% of the patients had at least one chronic comorbidity. Hypertension was the most frequently reported comorbidity (28.5%). Higher body mass index, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale anxiety score and St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire total score were associated with a good response to PR by the 6-min walk distance. None of the individual comorbidities or indexes were correlated with the efficacy of PR. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that body mass index was independently associated with the response to PR. Conclusions PR is equally effective in elderly and younger patients with COPD, with efficacy influenced by body mass index and anxiety. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2015; ●●: ●●–●●.

Aim Physical activity (PA) has been associated with an improvement in survival for individuals with cancer. However, little is known about the effect of postoperative pulmonary rehabilitation on PA after lobectomy in patients with lung cancer. The present study investigated the effect of outpatient rehabilitation on PA in patients with cancer after lung resection. Methods A total of 19 patients with lung cancer were recruited for this study and completed a preoperative rehabilitation program. One group of nine patients completed a postoperative outpatient pulmonary rehabilitation program (rehabilitation) and another group of 10 patients did not (control), but were similarly followed up. Preoperative lung function, assessed by forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), body mass index (BMI) and St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) score were not different between groups. PA was measured before and 2 months after surgery using a three-axis accelerometer for 5–6 days. PA level (PAL) was defined as total energy expenditure divided by basal metabolic rate. Results Preoperative PAL was not different between groups. However, postoperative versus preoperative PAL was significantly lower in the control versus the rehabilitation group (P

We have measured the cross sections for $\pi^0\pi^\pm$ photoproduction on the nucleon in the deuteron with an electromagnetic calorimeter system, FOREST, at the Research Center for Electron Photon Science, Tohoku University, Japan. The incident photon energy ranges from 570 to 1150 MeV, corresponding to the $\gamma N$ center of mass, $W_{\gamma N}$, from 1400 to 1750 MeV. The baryon resonances coupling to $\rho^+ n$ and $\rho^-p$ are observed as intermediate states together with $\Delta$-Kroll-Ruderman background components. The angular distributions for the produced $\rho^+$ and $\rho^-$ mesons are convex downward and upward at high energies ($W_{\gamma N}\sim 1720$ MeV), respectively.

A large-acceptance spectrometer, Neutral Kaon Spectrometer 2 (NKS2), was newly constructed to explore various photoproduction reactions in the gigaelectronvolt region at the Laboratory of Nuclear Science (LNS, currently ELPH), Tohoku University. The spectrometer consisted of a dipole magnet, drift chambers, and plastic scintillation counters. NKS2 was designed to separate pions and protons in a momentum range of less than 1 GeV/$c$, and was placed in a tagged photon beamline. A cryogenic H$_{2}$/D$_{2}$ target fitted to the spectrometer were designed. The design and performance of the detectors are described. The results of the NKS2 experiment on analyzing strangeness photoproduction data using a 0.8--1.1 GeV tagged photon beam are also presented., Comment: 62 pages, 29 figues. Submitted to Nucl. Instrum. Meth. A

We developed a timing counter with a monolithic array of multi-pixel photon counters (MPPCs) coupled to a $10 \times 12.6 \times 24~\hbox{mm}^3$ plastic scintillator. A signal of the MPPC was processed and its fast components were amplified by a developed readout circuit to improve the timing. The performances of the counter were evaluated by electrons with energies of 855 MeV. A set of the MPPC based scintillation counter and a PMT based reference counter achieved the TOF resolution less than 80 ps ( $\sigma $ ). The gain was almost constant up to the count rate of 170 kHz.

The collection efficiency for Cherenkov light incident on a wavelength shifting plate (WLS) has been determined during a beam test at the Proton Synchrotron facility located in the National Laboratory for High Energy Physics (KEK), Tsukuba, Japan. The experiment was conducted in order to determine the detector's response to photoelectrons converted from photons produced by a fused silica radiator; this allows for an approximation of the detector's quality. The yield of the photoelectrons produced through internally generated Cherenkov light as well as light incident from the radiator was measured as a function of the momentum of the incident hadron beam. The yield is proportional to sin 2 θ c , where θ c is the opening angle of the Cherenkov light created. Based on estimations and results from similar conducted tests, where the collection efficiency was roughly 39%, the experimental result was expected to be around 40% for internally produced light from the WLS. The results of the experiment determined the photon collection response efficiency of the WLS to be roughly 62% for photons created in a fused silica radiator and 41% for light created in the WLS.

The strangeness photoproduction processes near the threshold have been intensively studied by measuring K + in reactions such as γ + p → K + + Λ ( Σ 0 ) . There has been no reliable data on the neutron and as a consequence theoretical investigation suffered seriously from the lack of the data. We have an effort to measure the γ + d → K 0 ( Λ ) + X reaction in the π + π − ( p π − ) decay channel of K S 0 (Λ) using a liquid D2 target and internally-tagged photon beams ( E γ = 0.80 – 1.08 GeV ) at Research Center for Electron Photon Science (ELPH), Tohoku University. We have renewed the spectrometer (NKS2) and took data with a liquid D2 target in 2005–2007. More recently, we took data in 2010 after a detector upgrade in the vertex region to substantially increase the acceptance. The results of Λ single measurements on a deuterium target were obtained for differential cross-section as a function of momentum, as a function of angle, and integrated cross-section as a function of beam energy. The results are compared with recent theoretical studies: Isobar models (Kaon-MAID and Saclay-Lyon A) and a Regge-plus-Resonance model.

Baryon spectroscopy is important to understand Quantum Chromodynamics at low energies. In this purpose, a series of π 0 and η photoproduction experiments was carried out with an electro-magnetic calorimeter FOREST at Research Center for Electron Photon Science, Tohoku University. The incident tagged bremsstrahlung photon energy ranges from 550 to 1,150 MeV. The differential and total cross sections obtained for π 0 and η photoproduction processes on the proton are consistent with the SAID and MAID calculations. The analysis of π 0 and η photoproduction on the neutron is underway.

Photoproduction of the neutral kaon on the deuteron has been investigated at the Research Center for Electron Photon Science, Tohoku University. We constructed the Neutral Kaon Spectrometer-2 for the detection of charged particles from the decay of the neutral kaon and the hyperon. We obtained a momentum distribution of K 0 with the inclusive measurement. It was consistent with the previous measurement. The total cross section of γ + d → K 0 + Λ + p was estimated from the measured integral cross section of γ + d → Λ + X. The total cross section with respect to the photon energy was compared with the theoretical calculations. It favored the Saclay-Lyon A model calculation with the ratio of the neutral to charged coupling constants of the axial-vector meson, K 1, as ~ −1.5. The energy dependence and the magnitude of the total cross section were similar to the total cross section of γ + p → K + Λ.

Double charged pion photoproductions from the deuteron have been studied at Research Center for Electron Photon Science (ELPH), Tohoku University. Tagged photon beams in an energy range of 0.67 ≤ E γ ≤ 1.08 GeV were impinged on the liquid deuteron target. Produced charged particles were observed with the Neutral Kaon Spectrometer2 (NKS2). The γ d → π + π − d process was clearly separated among the three charged tracks. We obtained the photon energy dependence of the normalized yields of this process.

A Λ hypernuclear spectroscopic experiment, JLab E05-115 was performed at JLab Hall-C in 2009 by the (e, e′K+) reaction. Data of Λ hypernuclei with mass numbers from A = 7 to A = 52 were successfully taken, and the analyses are in progress. A polyethylene (CH2) target was used as a proton target to calibrate energy scales, and to study elementary process of the p(e, e′K+)Λ, Σ0 reaction. A preliminary differential cross section of K+ Λ electro-production at low Q2 [~0.01 (GeV/c)2] and at small kaon angles $${({\rm cos} \theta_{\rm K}^{\rm CM} \sim 0.97)}$$ is reported in the present article.

A beam profile monitor for 1-GeV region gamma-ray beams has been developed using an X-ray flat panel sensor. In order to increase its sensitivity to gamma-rays, a converter plate was placed on the input window. We tested its sensitivity to input gamma-ray photons with various types of converter plates. The output brightness of the pixels was found to be correlated to the number of electrons and positrons converted from the gamma-ray photons. A measured profile of the 1-GeV region gamma-ray beams obtained with a 1-mm thick lead plate was consistent with the beam profile measured with plastic scintillator hodoscopes. It suggested that the X-ray flat panel sensor was sufficiently applicable to the beam profile monitor for 1-GeV region gamma-ray beams.

The missing mass spectroscopy of the HeΛ7 hypernucleus was performed using the Li7(e, e ′K+)HeΛ7 reaction at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility Hall C. The Λ- binding energy of the ground-state (1/2+) was determined with a smaller error than that of the previous measurement, being BΛ=5.55±0.10stat.±0.11sys.MeV. The experiment also provided new insight into charge symmetry breaking in p-shell hypernuclear systems. Finally, a peak at BΛ=3.65±0.20stat. ±0.11sys.MeV was observed and assigned as a mixture of 3/2+ and 5/2+ states, confirming the "gluelike" behavior of Λ, which makes an unstable state in He6 stable against neutron emission.

Spectroscopy of a Be-10(Lambda) hypernucleus was carried out at JLab Hall C using the (e, e' K+) reaction. A new magnetic spectrometer system (SPL+ HES+ HKS), specifically designed for high resolution hypernuclear spectroscopy, was used to obtain an energy spectrum with a resolution of similar to 0.78 MeV (FWHM). The well-calibrated spectrometer system of the present experiment using p(e, e' K+)Lambda, Sigma(0) reactions allowed us to determine the energy levels; and the binding energy of the ground-state peak (mixture of 1(-) and 2(-) states) was found to be B-Lambda = 8.55 +/- 0.07(stat.) +/- 0.11(sys.) MeV. The result indicates that the ground-state energy is shallower than that of an emulsion study by about 0.5 MeV which provides valuable experimental information on the charge symmetry breaking effect in the Lambda N interaction.

We have developed an event mixing technique to observe Bose-Einstein correlations (BEC) between two identical neutral pions produced in photo-induced reactions in the non-perturbative QCD energy region. It is found that the missing-mass consistency cut and the pion-energy cut are essential for the event mixing method to effectively extract BEC observables. A Monte Carlo (MC) simulation is used to validate these constraints and confirms the efficiency of this method. Our work paves the way for similar BEC studies at lower energies where the multiplicity of emitted bosons is limited.

The total cross sections were measured for coherent double neutral-pion photoproduction on the deuteron at incident energies below 0.9 GeV for the first time. No clear resonance-like behavior is observed in the excitation function for $W_{\gamma d}=2.38$--2.61 GeV, where the $d^*(2380)$ dibaryon resonance observed at COSY is expected to appear. The measured excitation function is consistent with the existing theoretical calculation for this reaction. The upper limit of the total cross section is found to be $0.034$~$\mu$b for the dibaryon resonance at $W_{\gamma d}=2.37$~GeV (90\% confidence level) in the $\gamma d \to \pi^0\pi^0 d$ reaction., Comment: submitted to Physics Letters B

〔目的〕三宅式記銘力検査時の脳血流反応を明らかにするために，近赤外光脳イメージング装置を用いて検討した．〔対象〕健常ボランティア男性8名（25.6±3.9歳）とした．〔方法〕近赤外光脳イメージング装置を用いて，三宅式記銘力検査時における前頭前野領域での脳血流反応を測定した．有関係対語と無関係対語の2条件にて，それぞれ3回の繰り返し課題での得点と脳血流の変化について評価した．〔結果〕有関係対語，無関係対語ともに，1回目と3回目での比較にて，正答数の増加が認められ，Oxy-Hb値に関しては有意な低下を認めた．〔結語〕言語性記憶課題においても，同一課題を頻回繰り返すことによる正答数の増加は，脳血流量を減少させることが示唆された．

上腕骨近位端骨折に対してロッキングプレートを用いて骨接合術を行った症例の術後成績について検討したので報告する．対象は2007年9月から2009年11月に手術を行った9例で，男性1例，女性8例，平均年齢61.3（38～76）歳であった．骨折型はAO分類でtype A3：2例，type B1：2例，type B2：2例，type C1：2例，type C2：1例であった．手術はdeltopectral approachで行い，プレートはPHILOSプレートを用いた．全例で骨癒合を認めたが，術後2例に大結節の上方転位を認めた．術後合併症は感染を1例，CRPSを1例に認めた．最終観察時のJOA scoreは平均79.7（59～97）点であった．ロッキングプレートは粉砕骨折に対しても強固な安定性が得られ有用であるが，解剖学的整復とともにプレートの適切な位置への設置が重要と思われた．

We have been developing technologies for energy saving in the residential sector. Recently, we have been concentrating our resources specifically into the development of polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) cogeneration systems. The system has excellent energy saving characteristics. However, the total amount of energy saved depends on how the system is operated. The characteristics of residential energy consumption are more complicated than in industrial use and depend on individual living patterns. It is therefore not easy to develop a control method for a system that can be generally applied across a wide variety of residential use. In this paper, we propose a system configuration and operation planning method developed for a residential PEFC cogeneration system. Using an operation planning method we developed, we demonstrate that our system provides higher energy savings than the conventional method. The energy saving rates are 15.9% under a large heat demand, 18.4% under a relatively high electrical demand and low heat demand, 1.3% under relative low electrical and heat demands.

Yamaguchi N, Hamachi T, Kamio N, Akifusa S, Masuda K, Nakamura Y, Nonaka K, Maeda K, Hanazawa S, Yamashita Y. Expression levels of adiponectin receptors and periodontitis. J Periodont Res 2010; 45: 296–300. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S Background and Objective: We recently showed that adiponectin, an adipocyte-derived cytokine, may function as a negative regulator of the Toll-like receptor signaling pathway and of osteoclast formation in periodontal disease. In this study, we investigated whether the expression levels of adiponectin receptors (AdipoR1 and AdipoR2) are related to the presence of periodontitis. Material and Methods: We initially examined, using RT-PCR, the expression of the AdipoR1 and AdipoR2 genes at the mRNA level in several oral tissues of C57BL mice. Next, we investigated (using real-time PCR assays) whether inflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor-α, could affect the expression levels of these genes in human gingival fibroblasts. Lastly, we compared the expression levels of these receptor proteins in gingival tissues between two healthy subjects and five patients with severe periodontal disease using western blotting analysis. Results: The AdipoR1 and AdipoR2 receptors were ubiquitously expressed in the oral tissues of mice. We observed that treatment with tumor necrosis factor-α could significantly reduce the expression levels of both AdipoR1 and AdipoR2 genes in human gingival fibroblasts. Moreover, we found that the expression of both receptors was lower in periodontal tissues from patients with severe periodontitis than in patients with healthy periodontal tissues. Conclusion: These observations suggest that adiponectin may not function efficiently in sites of periodontal disease because of a decrease in the number of its receptors, and this probable dysfunction may play a role in worsening periodontitis in patients.

Since the 1st generation experiment, E89-009, which was successfully carried out as a pilot experiment of (e,e'K+) hypernuclear spectroscopy at JLab Hall C in 2000, precision hypernuclear spectroscopy by the (e,e'K+) reactions made considerable progress. It has evolved to the 2nd generation experiment, E01-011, in which a newly constructed high resolution kaon spectrometer (HKS) was installed and the “Tilt method” was adopted in order to suppress large electromagnetic background and to run with high luminosity. Preliminary high-resolution spectra of 7 Λ He and 28 Λ Al together with that of 12 Λ B that achieved resolution better than 500 keV(FWHM) were obtained. The third generation experiment, E05-115, has completed data taking with an experimental setup combining a new splitter magnet, high resolution electron spectrometer (HES) and the HKS used in the 2nd generation experiment. The data were accumulated with targets of 7 Li, 9 Be, 10 B, 12 C and 52 Cr as well as with those of CH 2 and H 2 O for calibration. The analysis is under way with particular emphasis of determining precision absolute hypernuclear masses. In this article, hypernuclear spectroscopy program in the wide mass range at JLab Hall C that has undergone three generation is described.

Photoproduction of the K 0 from the deuteron and the carbon nucleus has been investigated at the Laboratory of Nuclear Science, Tohoku University in Sendai. The Neutral Kaon Spectrometer and the Neutral Kaon Spectrometer 2 were developed to detect π + π − pairs coming from the decay of the K S 0 . The resulting K 0 momentum spectra for inclusive K 0 photoproduction were compared with theoretical calculations based on isobar models for γ + n → K 0 + Λ , utilizing the spectator hypothesis. An upgrade of the inner detectors to enhance the acceptance for the coincidence measurement of the K S 0 and Λ is underway. We expect that the exclusive and kinematically complete measurement of the reaction will provide us with direct access to the center-of-mass observables that are important for further understanding the mechanism for strangeness photoproduction.