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Life-history polymorphism in habitat use has been widely reported in aquatic migratory animals. Adult loggerhead sea turtles Caretta caretta in the North Pacific exhibit foraging-habitat polymorphism, showing a 2.4-fold greater reproductive output for neritic foragers than for oceanic ones. However, knowledge of how turtles in each habitat behave and what effect this has on reproduction remains limited. We combined horizontal movement and dive behavior analyses to explore foraging behavior and habitat utilization in adult female loggerheads in the North Pacific. Between 2016 and 2018, satellite relay data loggers were attached to 10 females nesting in Japan. The turtles were tracked for 219.2 ± 185.0 d (±SD) within the range of 10 to 521 d. Three foraging destinations were revealed, with different foraging tactics in each habitat: (1) the neritic East China Sea (ECS), (2) neritic coastal areas of mainland Japan (CMJ), and (3) oceanic North Pacific Ocean (NPO). ECS females mainly foraged on benthic prey with foraging-site fidelity; however, some turtles alternately preyed on benthos and plankton along with their seasonal migration. CMJ females also foraged on benthic prey with site fidelity, whereas NPO females foraged on plankton by drifting eastward with the oceanic currents. Dive-type analyses revealed that the proportion of time spent presumably foraging was similar among the 3 habitats, suggesting that the nutrient richness of prey items and the migration distance between foraging and breeding grounds may cause differences in reproductive outputs among different life-history types of loggerhead turtles.

Introduction: SARS-2-CoV infection, or COVID-19, is characterized by a heterogeneous evolution that goes from the absence of symptoms to a very serious disease, which can result in death. To date, we do not have instruments that allow us to easily predict the level of respiratory involvement in COVID-19. We hypothesized that there would be a relationship between the frequency content of patients cough sound and the severity of their disease. Methods: 36 COVID-19 patients (17 male, 52 (44 - 56) yrs.) with different degrees of severity of pneumonia were included in this study. Spontaneous cough or that obtained after induction maneuvers were recorded. Phase 1 and 2 of 129 individual cough epochs were identified, and several frequency-based features were explored. Results: Analysis shows a significant difference between groups in which pneumonia was present and absent for both maximum frequency and the variability of the frequency in phase 1 of the cough signal, as well as between the group in which pneumonia was absent and that in which pneumonia was severe (Fig. 1). Conclusions: The results presented suggest that aspects of the frequency content of the cough sound of COVID-19 patients are affected by the disease severity. Acknowledgment: This work was supported in part by Grant RTI2018-098472-B-I00 MCIU/AEI/FEDER, UE.

Background: In Japan, district differences in the prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) are well-known. This study examined district differences in Japan in measured values of arterial stiffness, an independent risk factor for CVD. Methods and Results: Local residents participating in health checkups conducted in the Wakayama (n=461) and Nagano (n=186) prefectures in 2018 were recruited to the study. Brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) was evaluated as an index of arterial stiffness. After multivariate adjustment, baPWV was significantly higher in the Wakayama than Nagano district in subjects aged ≥70 years (mean [±SE] 1,912±25 vs. 1,763±30 cm/s; P{\textless}0.01), but not in subjects aged {\textless}70 years. Multivariate linear regression analysis demonstrated that the Wakayama/Nagano district difference was significantly (P{\textless}0.01) associated with baPWV. Conclusions: District differences were observed in the measured values of arterial stiffness in Wakayama and Nagano. The Wakayama and Nagano prefectures are representative areas with a relatively high and relatively low prevalence of CVD, respectively, in Japan. Therefore, based on the results of the present study, we propose to conduct a study to examine whether district differences in arterial stiffness underlie district differences in the prevalence of CVD.

Hybridization of Bogoliubov quasiparticles (BQPs) between the CuO_{2} layers in the triple-layer cuprate high-temperature superconductor Bi_{2}Sr_{2}Cu_{2}Cu_{3}O_{10+δ} is studied by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES). In the superconducting state, an anticrossing gap opens between the outer- and inner-BQP bands, which we attribute primarily to interlayer single-particle hopping with possible contributions from interlayer Cooper pairing. We find that the d-wave superconducting gap of both BQP bands smoothly develops with momentum without an abrupt jump in contrast to a previous ARPES study. Hybridization between the BQPs also gradually increases in going from the off nodal to the antinodal region, which is explained by the momentum dependence of the interlayer single-particle hopping. As possible mechanisms for the enhancement of the superconducting transition temperature, the hybridization between the BQPs as well as the combination of phonon modes of the triple CuO_{2} layers and spin fluctuations represented by a four-well model are discussed.

The pseudogap, d-wave superconductivity and electron-boson coupling are three intertwined key ingredients in the phase diagram of the cuprates. Sr_{2}IrO_{4} is a 5d-electron counterpart of the cuprates in which both the pseudogap and a d-wave instability have been observed. Here, we report spectroscopic evidence for the presence of the third key player in electron-doped Sr_{2}IrO_{4}: electron-boson coupling. A kink in nodal dispersion is observed with an energy scale of ∼50 meV. The strength of the kink changes with doping, but the energy scale remains the same. These results provide the first noncuprate platform for exploring the relationship between the pseudogap, d-wave instability, and electron-boson coupling in doped Mott insulators.

Background & Aim Today, despite thousands of MSC clinical trials conducted, we have not reached any conclusion on what are the Critical Quality Attribute's (CQA's) for MSC. MSC is generated from various mesodermal tissues and can differentiate to mesoderm lineage cells or secret immuno-modulatory cytokines after transplant, which makes the definition of CQA vague. To resolve this, we propose to specify the origin of the cell, the mechanism and scope of indication, and then consider to name the tissue specific-stem cell instead of ‘MSC’. Methods, Results & Conclusion We select immuno-suppression as an indication of tissue specific-stem cells to define the CQA easily. In this case, it will be defined mainly by two major events: having proliferative potential as a process parameter and expecting anti-inflammatory effect as an efficacy. Tissue stem cells cease to proliferate after certain number of mitosis, which relates to the “aging” process. “Aged” cells can be described by increased production of ROS, hyperpolarization of mitochondrial membrane, decreased Rho activity related to spindle shape of cell and low mobility, decrease serine uptake and increase kynurenine secretion that could relate to the loss of intracellular anti-oxidization mechanism. The above parameters can explain the status of exponential cell growth, non-senescence stage in a real time manner via in process monitoring, and can be used as critical process parameters (CPPs) to verify the CQA of the product. As process parameters may vary depending on the culture condition, it is essential to define an optimized culture condition first to address CPPs and CQA. CPPs are used as monitoring points during manufacturing (quality by design) and are well matched to automated mass culturing systems with sensors, not manual manufacturing that verifies the quality of final product only at the release stage (quality by testing) due to lack of information on material and process variability. Efficacy of the final product also constitutes a CQA of the product. We propose to set up a simple immuno-modulation assay such as measuring INF-g or IL-4 secreted from PBMC in Th1 or Th2 induction conditions in the presence of tissue stem cells to address immunosuppressant effect of the product, such an assay needs further refinement in a future study. We hope our approach to define CQA can contribute to find the answer of a decades-long question “what is MSC” and will pave the way to commercial manufacturing of cell products.

We use a surface-selective angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and unveil the electronic nature on the topmost layer of Sr_{2}RuO_{4} crystal, consisting of slightly rotated RuO_{6} octahedrons. The γ band derived from the 4d_{xy} orbital is found to be about three times narrower than that for the bulk. This strongly contrasts with a subtle variation seen in the α and β bands derived from the one-dimensional 4d_{xz/yz}. This anomaly is reproduced by the dynamical mean-field theory calculations, introducing not only the on-site Hubbard interaction but also the significant Hund's coupling. We detect a coherence-to-incoherence crossover theoretically predicted for Hund's metals, which has been recognized only recently. The crossover temperature in the surface is about half that of the bulk, indicating that the naturally generated monolayer of reconstructed Sr_{2}RuO_{4} is extremely correlated and well isolated from the underlying crystal.

Magnetic microstructure and anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) were simultaneously investigated for a permalloy film with dimensions of 2 mm × 100 μm × 35 nm by means of Lorentz microscopy. The ripple contrast of the magnetic domain in which the average magnetization is parallel to the external field was fainter than that of the domain with anti-parallel magnetization. The difference of the resistivity of these domains was experimentally confirmed.

Magnetic microstructure and magnetoresistance (MR) were simultaneously investigated for an Ni0.8 Fe0.2 film with dimensions of 2mm× 100μ m× 35nm. An in-situ experiment in a magnetic field was carried out by simply tilting the film inside a transmission electron microscope. Using the ripple contrast of Lorentz images as a guide, the inhomogeneous distribution of the magnetization was investigated. Comparing the result obtained by Lorentz microscopy with the magnetoresistance of the film, we quantitatively investigated the distribution of the MR-curve within the film. The influence of the film edge on the MR-curve extended to 20μ m from the edge. The feasibility of simultaneous in-situ experiments involving Lorentz microscopy and magnetoresistance measurements was confirmed.

Fuel cell systems are seen as the ultimate solution to environmental issues such as CO2 emissions and air pollution. There is much current work aimed at developing FC vehicles (FCVs), which are expected to be on the market around 2003. However, in order to achieve widespread use of FCVs, they will need to provide the same performance, cost, and reliability as vehicles with internal combustion engines and hybrid electric vehicles. It is estimated that hydrogen FCVs can achieve the lowest CO2 emissions while reformate FCVs can attain the same level as diesel hybrid electric vehicles. The important technical issues of the FC stack system involve improving the efficiency and start ability at temperatures below 0 °C. The central technical issues of the reformate system are to improve efficiency and reduce start-up time. The most critical challenge for the popularization of FCVs is to achieve cost reductions and performance improvements simultaneously.

Formation of single channel subconductance is one of the unique characteristics of the L-type Ca 2+ channel. Although α 1 subunit exhibits a primary function of the channel, it remains uncertain whether α 1 subunit alone is able to produce subconductance. We tested this by studying single channel currents of cloned cardiac α 1 subunit expressed in Chinese hamster fibroblast cells, with/without coexpression of cardiac β subunit. The α 1 subunit exhibited four distinct levels of conductance (22.7, 14.3, 6.2 and 3.2 pS). Coexpression of β subunit significantly increased the number of openings in all four levels of conductance without changing the conductance values.

A systematic study of the optical gain of continuous wave InGaN multiple quantum well laser diode wafers has been made using the variable excitation-stripe length method. Experimental evidence is given of stimulated emission enhanced by resonance between degenerate states and non-degenerate ones, which co-exist in quantum wells having spatial potential undulation due to considerable fluctuation of the InGaN composition.

The authors describe a 46-year-old Japanese woman who had Takayasu's arteritis asso ciated with nephrotic syndrome due to mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis with crescent. Although a few cases of focal and segmental mesangial proliferative glomeru lonephritis associated with Takayasu's arteritis have been reported, nephrotic syndrome has not been reported previously in this situation.

Experimental observation of excited state exciton Rabi rotation in a single GaN quantum dot is presented. The dot is embedded in a site-controlled GaN/AlGaN nanowire. Damped oscillation is observed in the power-dependent spectra of the quantum-dot ground state upon resonant pumping of an excited state that had been identified by photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy. A discussion on the origins of the damping is given.

High angle tilt boundaries in polycrystalline tapes of Nb3Ge, prepared by the coevaporation technique, have been studied by high resolution transmission electron microscopy. Based on geometric boundary theories, possible structure models have been constructed for ∑17/[001] and ∑5/[001] grain boundaries. By comparing the electron microscopic observations with the image simulations of the models, specific atomic configurations of these types of tilt boundary are proposed.

Nagakubo A., Arita M., Ogi H., et al. Elastic constant C 11 of 12C diamond between 10 and 613 K. Applied Physics Letters, 108(22), 221902 (2016) https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4952613., We measured the temperature dependence of the elastic constant C11 of a 12C diamond monocrystal using picosecond ultrasonics between 10 and 613 K. We found that C11 is almost temperature independent below room temperature; the temperature coefficient around 300 K is -6.6 MPa/K. Our results show a significantly higher Einstein temperature than reported values by ∼30%, indicating that diamond has a larger zero-point energy, which remains dominant around ambient temperature. We also calculated the temperature dependence of the elastic constants using ab-initio methods, resulting in good agreement with measurements. Our study shows that below-ambient-temperature measurements are not sufficient to extract the Debye temperature and the Grüneisen parameter of high-Debye-temperature materials.

The experimental evidence is presented of the topological insulator state in PbBi2Te4. A single surface Dirac cone is observed by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy with synchrotron radiation. Topological invariants Z2 are calculated from the ab initio band structure to be 1;(111). The observed two-dimensional isoenergy contours in the bulk energy gap are found to be the largest among the known three-dimensional topological insulators. This opens a pathway to achieving a sufficiently large spin current density in future spintronic devices.

Planar defects in coevaporated Nb[sub 3]Ge films with the A15 structure are investigated by means of high resolution electron microscopy. The defects are usually on (100) and (110). The high resolution electron micrographs of these defects allow one to deduce the main translation vector; i.e., (1/2) [center dot] (111). The atomic configurations of these defects are investigated by comparing the observed images and the theoretical contrast calculations. There is a good fit between experimental and calculated images for the assumed defect models.

Thin films of Nb-Ge textures contain regions of highly disordered Nb-Ge, the precise atomic structure of which has previously not been resolved. A detailed selected area electron diffraction investigation involving tilt series around many differently oriented axes, as well as high resolution electron microscopy, allows the interpretation of these regions as assemblies of grains with a strongly defective crystal structure, and some regions giving amorphous-like contrasts in the electron micrographs. The crystalline regions have been identified possibly as orthorhombic with a = 0.85 nm, b = 0.67 nm, and c = 0.35 nm. The grain boundaries, planar defects, and lattice distortions in the crystalline grains are described. The texture of these grains, together with the possibly amorphous component, causes the complicated "streaked" electron diffraction patterns which can be obtained for any orientation of the electron beam.

We describe the prevalence of community-acquired M. pneumoniae pneumonia diagnosed by culture methods in a single institute in Japan from January 1979 to December 1999. Cultures were performed in 2971 pneumonia cases and yielded M. Pneumoniae in 508 cases. The epidemic peaks recurred regularly at 4-year intervals (1980, 84, 88 and 91–2). Although a large epidemic has not occurred since 1992, traces of epidemic periodicity have still persisted from 1992 to 1999 at 3-year intervals.

The three-dimensional band structure and superconducting gap of Ba0.6K0.4Fe2As2 are studied with angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. In contrast with previous results, we have identified three holelike Fermi surface sheets near the zone center with sizable out-of-plane or kz dispersion. The superconducting gap on certain Fermi surface sheets shows significant kz dependence. Moreover, the superconducting gap sizes are different at the same Fermi momentum for two bands with different spatial symmetries (one odd, one even). Our results further reveal the three-dimensional and orbital-dependent structure of the superconducting gap in iron pnictides, which facilitates the understanding of momentum-integrated measurements and provides a distinct test for theories.

We have determined the electron-coupling spectrum of superconducting Bi2Sr2CaCu2O(8+δ) from high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectra by two deconvolution-free robust methods. As hole concentration decreases, the coupling spectral weight at low energies ≲15 meV shows a twofold and nearly band-independent enhancement, while that around ∼65 meV increases moderately, and that in ≳130 meV decreases leading to a crossover of dominant coupling excitation between them. Our results suggest the competition among multiple screening effects, and provide important clues to the source of sufficiently strong low-energy coupling, λ(LE)≈1, in an underdoped system.

BACKGROUND Previous evidence has shown that increased sympathetic tone enhances the cesium chloride (Cs)-induced early afterdepolarizations (EADs) and ventricular tachycardias (VTs). METHODS AND RESULTS We assessed the effects of vagal stimulation on Cs-induced EADs and ventricular arrhythmias in the rabbit heart. Monophasic action potentials (MAPs) of the left ventricular endocardium were recorded simultaneously with surface ECG. Two protocols were used: 1) While in their intrinsic sinus rhythm, 11 rabbits were given three intravenous Cs injections (1 mM/kg) 20 minutes apart, and the effects of vagal stimulation on the ventricular arrhythmias thus induced were examined. 2) Under constant atrial pacing (cycle length, 250 msec), EAD amplitude was measured after Cs injection (1 mM/kg) without (five rabbits, control group) or with (four rabbits, vagal stimulation group) vagal stimulation. We observed the following. 1) Cs produced EADs and VTs of polymorphic (PVT) and monomorphic (MVT) types. During PVT, the take-off potential of repetitive premature action potentials in MAP recordings was about the same as the peak level of EADs, and during MVT, the take-off potential was the level of full repolarization. Vagal stimulation suppressed PVT but not MVT. Vagal stimulation after spontaneous termination of MVT restarted MVT of the same morphology at a rate much slower than the preceding sinus rate. 2) EAD amplitude was significantly smaller in the vagal stimulation group than in the control group. CONCLUSIONS The results suggest that PVT originated from triggering by EADs, whereas MVT was of different origin, and that vagal stimulation suppressed PVT by decreasing the amplitude of EADs.

In the heavily-electron-doped regime of the Ba(Fe,Co)2As2 superconductor, three hole bands at the zone center are observed and two of them reach the Fermi level. The larger hole pocket at the zone center is apparently nested with the smaller electron pocket around the zone corner. However, the (pi,0) Fermi surface reconstruction reported for the hole-doped case is absent in the heavily-electron-doped case. This observation shows that the apparent Fermi surface nesting alone is not enough to enhance the antiferromagnetic correlation as well as the superconducting transition temperature.

We report the first observation of the multilayer band splitting in the optimally doped trilayer cuprate Bi2Sr2Ca2Cu3O(10+δ) (Bi2223) by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. The observed energy bands and Fermi surfaces are originated from the outer and inner CuO2 planes (OP and IP). The OP band is overdoped with a large d-wave gap around the node of Δ0∼43 meV while the IP is underdoped with an even large gap of Δ0∼60 meV. These energy gaps are much larger than those for the same doping level of the double-layer cuprates, which leads to the large Tc in Bi2223. We propose possible origins of the large superconducting gaps for the OP and IP: (1) minimal influence of out-of-plane disorder and a proximity effect and (2) interlayer tunneling of Cooper pairs between the OP and IP.