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Several studies have reported fragmentary evidence that climate change is altering the phenology and behavior of honey bees. We compiled records of off-season swarming of the Japanese honey bee (Apis cerana japonica) between autumn and winter to improve our understanding of the impact of climate change on the subspecies’ swarming phenology. Based on a survey of 311 beekeepers, eleven off-season swarming records were collected, with ten of them are from 2020 onward. The beekeepers who reported off-season swarming records had eight to twenty years of beekeeping experience, and they declared that they were witnessing off-season swarming for the first time, suggesting a recent increase. One possible factor contributing to the increase in off-season swarming is the temperature rise, as average autumn and winter temperatures in Japan have been increasing.

The influence of crystallization on the structural and dielectric characteristics of amorphous BaTiO3-SrTiO3 thin films prepared by ion sputtering was investigated. The results showed that the samples crystallized into solid solutions after annealing at 923 K for more than one hour. The amorphous films exhibited a Debye-type dielectric relaxation while the crystallized films showed paraelectric behavior.

The magnetic, electric and structural properties of Mn5Ge3/Ge nanostructured films produced by solid-state reaction of Mn/Ge multilayered films were studied. The average grain size of Mn5Ge was altered according to the discharging power of the ion source, which is due to the change in the local composition as well as the width of the interdiffused region formed at the Mn/Ge interfaces. An anomalous magnetic behavior was also observed in the compound.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to investigate the association of masticatory performance with oral health-related quality of life in independently living elderly Japanese subjects. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study sample consisted of 1028 independently living people over the age of 60 years. Masticatory performance was determined by the concentration of dissolved glucose obtained from test gummy jellies, which are the standardized food developed for measuring masticatory performance. The short-form Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) and Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI) were used to measure the impact of oral conditions on oral health-related quality of life. RESULTS: Subjects with lower masticatory performance had significantly higher total OHIP-14 and GOHAI scores (15.0 +/- 9.0 and 14.5 +/- 9.2, respectively) than their counterparts (10.0 +/- 7.5 and 11.3 +/- 7.1, respectively) (P < .01). Logistic regression analyses showed that after controlling for age, gender, self-perceived general health, satisfaction with financial status, and number of teeth, a higher GOHAI score was significantly related to lower masticatory performance (P = .001; odds ratio: 0.56; 95% CI: 0.40 to 0.79). A higher OHIP-14 score was associated with lower masticatory performance but at a level below statistical significance (P = .096; odds ratio: 0.75; 95% CI: 0.53 to 1.05). CONCLUSION: It is suggested that masticatory performance is an important factor influencing the quality of life in independently living, relatively healthy elderly Japanese subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PURPOSE: Clinically excellent dentures have shown a limited influence on the function of denture wearers, suggesting that patient factors, such as salivary flow or oral sensory ability, may play an important role in oral function. The purpose of this study was to examine the oral sensory ability of aged edentulous patients in relation to masticatory performance. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Subjects were 30 edentulous elderly patients with no oral symptoms or pathologies. Oral stereognostic ability (OSA) tests were conducted with test pieces of 12 shaped forms. The duration time for recognition was noted and the answers were recorded using a 3-point scale. Masticatory performance was determined by the concentration of dissolved glucose obtained from test gummy jellies, which are a standardized food developed for measuring masticatory performance. Bilateral maximum occlusal force in the intercuspal position was measured with pressure-sensitive sheets. Stimulated whole saliva was collected using the mastication method. A multiple linear regression analysis for masticatory performance was carried out. Statistical significance was set at P < .05. RESULTS: The stepwise multiple linear regression analysis showed that masticatory performance was significantly associated with maximum occlusal force (beta = .65, P < .001), OSA score (beta = .51, P < .001), and hyposalivation (beta = -.26, P = .042). The R2 of the model was 0.67, indicating that about two thirds of the variation in masticatory performance could be statistically explained by this model. CONCLUSION: Reduced oral sensory function, low occlusal force, and hyposalivation appear to be associated with impairment of masticatory performance in aged complete denture wearers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between self-assessed satisfaction with mastication and food acceptability and masticatory performance in a large sample of older adults with various occlusal statuses. Materials and Methods: The subjects were 708 community-dwelling, independently living elderly persons (351 men and 357 women) with a mean age of 66.0 (SD: 4.2) years. Satisfaction with masticatory function and food acceptability (apples, grilled beef, and hard rice crackers) were evaluated using questionnaires. Masticatory performance was determined using test gummy jellies developed for measuring masticatory performance. Subjects were grouped into 3 categories by posterior occlusal contacts according to the Eichner Index. The Kruskal-Wallis test and a multiple logistic regression analysis for dissatisfaction with masticatory function were conducted. Results: Overall, posterior occlusal contacts, food acceptability, and masticatory performance were associated with satisfaction with masticatory function when evaluated with bivariate analysis. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that the number of foods that could be eaten without difficulty was the most important explanatory variable for dissatisfaction with masticatory function (P < .01). In contrast, objective masticatory performance was not significantly associated with dissatisfaction with masticatory function (P = .057) after controlling for posterior occlusal contacts and food acceptance. Conclusions: The subjective masticatory function was associated not only with objective masticatory performance, but also with an individual's posterior occlusal contacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PURPOSE: This study aimed to clarify the relationship between oral function and Body Mass Index (BMI) using data from independently living, relatively healthy older people. The hypothesis was that oral function is more important than dental status for healthy body weight. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The subjects were community-dwelling, independently living elderly people over 60 years of age (N = 807, 408 men and 399 women). An oral health examination, an oral and general health interview, and measurement of oral function, such as masticatory performance and occlusal force, were carried out. BMI (kg/m2) was used to measure body fat. A multiple logistic regression analysis was used for 2 outcome variables of underweight and overweight. RESULTS: Overall, 70.1% of the subjects were in the normal category of BMI (20 to 25), 13.4% were in the underweight category (< 20), and 16.5% were in the overweight category (> 25). Neither occlusal force nor masticatory performance was significantly correlated with BMI. However, when the lowest 20% of occlusal force and masticatory performance values were used as explanatory variables, multiple logistic regression analyses showed that being underweight was significantly associated with having lower masticatory performance (odds ratio = 2.0, P= .015). In addition, being overweight was significantly associated with lower occlusal force (odds ratio = 1.8, P = .013). There was no statistical difference in the underweight or overweight proportions as a function of either number of teeth or type of dentition. CONCLUSION: Based on the results of this study, occlusal force and masticatory performance, rather than number of teeth or type of dentition, may play an important role in maintaining a normal BMI in independently living older Japanese people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PURPOSE: This study aimed to investigate the effect of age, posterior occlusal contacts, occlusal force, and salivary flow on masticatory performance in older adults. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study sample consisted of 328 independently living people over the age of 60 years. Masticatory performance was determined by the concentration of dissolved glucose obtained from test gummy jellies, which are the standardized food developed for measuring masticatory performance. Bilateral maximal occlusal force in the intercuspal position was measured with pressure-sensitive sheets. Stimulated whole saliva was collected using the mastication method. Subjects were grouped into 3 categories by posterior occlusal contacts according to the Eichner Index. RESULTS: The multiple linear regression analysis showed that, with other variables controlled, masticatory performance was significantly associated with posterior occlusal contacts (beta = -.24, P < .001 for Eichner group B; beta = -.52, P < .001 for Eichner group C), occlusal force (P = .28, P < .001), and hyposalivation (beta = -.08, P < .046) (R(2) = 0.49). Within the groups classified by the Eichner Index, occlusal force was significantly associated with masticatory performance; however, age was not. For salivary flow rate, hyposalivation had a significant relationship with masticatory performance in group C (P = .003) and group B (P = .047), but no significant relationship in group A. CONCLUSION: A decline of posterior occlusal contacts, occlusal force, and hyposalivation appear to be associated with masticatory performance with aging in older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The formation of a metastable phase in 35-50 at.% Mn-Ga thin films was investigated usin x-ray and microbeam diffraction analysis. The results indicated that the crystal structure of the metastable phase was related to a long-range ordered structure composed of a certain number of the Mn2Ga5 cell. The metastable phase affected the magnetic characteristics of the thin film. The metastable single-phase films featured high coercivity and relatively large saturation magnetization.

Single-crystalline films of BaFeO3 (BFO), which may contain unusual tetravalent Fe ions, on (100) and (111) SrTiO3 substrates by pulsed laser-beam deposition are discussed. The epitaxially grown BFO is considered to have a pseudocubic perovskite-type crystal structure with lattice expansion than is ascribed to the oxygen vacancies.

Investigates temperature and frequency dispersion of dielectric permittivity on thin amorphous films of strontium-titanium-oxygen prepared by a sputtering method using neutralized argon-ion beams. Analysis of the temperature dependence of relaxation time; Ways to characterize the dielectric relaxation phenomena in amorphous thin films; Application of ion-beam sputtering method.

The effect of Zr substitution on the magnetic and dielectric properties of the BaFe1-xZrxO3-δ epitaxial grown films was investigated. The Zr substitution significantly improved the dielectric properties of the films. In addition to this, the saturation magnetization for the x=0.7 sample was determined to be 0.98 μB/Fen+, in contrast to 0.09 μB/Fen+ for the x=0.5 sample. This implies that the magnetic ordering for the x=0.7 sample has been greatly enhanced, possibly due to the ferromagnetic spin alignment of Fe ions. We will discuss the magnetization behavior in conjunction with the valence state of the Fe ions in the samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have synthesized single-crystalline films of BaFeO[SUB3] (BFO), which may contain unusual tetravalent Fe ions, on (100) and (111) SrTiO[SUB3] substrates by pulsed laser-beam deposition. The epitaxially grown BFO is considered to have a pseudocubic perovskite-type crystal structure with some oxygen vacancies. The films were found to be highly insulating, and showed a high value of dielectric constant of ∊ = 59. The magnetization curve of the films exhibited hysteresis, as well as small remanent magnetization. The origin of the observed small magnetization can be ascribed to the mixed valence state of the Fe[SUP4+] and Fe[SUP3+] ions. The present epitaxially grown BFO apparently had some different magnetic and dielectric properties from those for bulk BFO as well as for the previously reported other Fe[SUP4+] oxides: coexisting high resistivity and spontaneous magnetization at room temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]