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Yuichi Kasai,1 Takaya Kato,2 Tadashi Inaba,3 Sotaro Baba,3 Permsak Paholpak,1 Taweechok Wisanuyotin,1 Weerachai Kosuwon,1 Hirohito Hirata,4 Tadatsugu Morimoto4 1Department of Orthopaedics, Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand; 2Graduate School of Regional Innovation Studies, Tsu, Japan; 3Department of Mechanical Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Mie University, Tsu, Japan; 4Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Saga University, Saga, JapanCorrespondence: Yuichi Kasai, Email ykasai55@gmail.comIntroduction: Although kissing spine syndrome in the lumbar spinal region is a relatively common condition in older adults, no study examining its biomechanical characteristics has been reported. We hypothesized that kissing of the spinous processes during extension causes an increase in the flexural rigidity of the spine and significantly limits the deformation behavior of extension, which in turn might cause lower back pain.Methods: Three test models (human cadavers A, B, and C) were prepared by removing supraspinal/interspinous ligaments between L4 and L5. The dental resin was attached to the cephalocaudal spinous process so that the spinous processes between L4 and L5 were almost in contact with each other to simulate the condition of a kissing spine. The flexion-extension direction’s torque–range-of-motion (torque–ROM) curve was generated with a six-axis material tester for biomechanical measurements.Results: In all three models, the maximum ROMs at the time of extension were smaller than those at the time of flexion, and no sudden increase in torque was observed during extension.Conclusion: The results indicated no apparent biomechanical effects of kissing between the spinous processes, suggesting that the contact between the spinous processes has little involvement in the onset of lower back pain.Keywords: kissing spine syndrome, Baastrup’s disease, biomechanical study, low back pain, lumbar spine

The appearance of topologically protected spin-momentum locked surface states in topological insulators gives rise to robust room temperature spin currents making them ideal candidates for the realization of spintronic devices. New methods are needed to access and manipulate such currents with timescales that are compatible with modern electronics. Here we reveal that an optically induced long-lived (~10 ns), spin-polarized surface state excitation in topological insulators can be easily tuned in both magnitude and duration. Time-resolved angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, together with a quantitative model, reveals the ideal conditions for a surface photovoltage in two different topological insulators. Our model predicts that the reported effects are an intrinsic property of topological insulators, as long as the chemical potential falls within the band gap. This work demonstrates that persistent excited topological surface states are photon-accessible and easily tuned in both magnitude and duration, merging photonics- and spintronics-based devices in the same material.

Topological insulators have been shown to exhibit strong and long-lived surface photovoltages when excited by an infrared pump. The ability to generate long-lived potentials on these surfaces provides opportunities to manipulate the spin-momentum locked topological surface states. Moreover, the photo-induced nature of this effect allows for localized excitation of arbitrary geometries. Knowing precisely how these potentials form and evolve is critical in understanding how to manage the effect in applications. The uniqueness of the photoemission experimental geometry, in which the photoelectron must traverse the induced surface field in vacuum, provides an interesting probe of the electric dipole shape generated by the surface photovoltage. In this study, we are able to match the observed decay of the geometric effect on the photoelectron to an essential electrodynamics model of the light-induced dipole thereby tracking the fluence-dependent evolution of the dipole geometry. By utilizing a standard time-resolved angle-resolved photoemission experiment, we are able to determine real-space information of the dipole while simultaneously recovering time-resolved band structure.

Miharu Inoue,1 Jiro Takeuchi,2 Mio Sakuma,2 Tsukasa Nakamura,3 Takeshi Morimoto2 1Japanese Red Cross Aichi Medical Center Nagoya Daini Hospital, Nagoya, Japan; 2Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Hyogo Medical University, Nishinomiya, Japan; 3Department of Infectious Diseases, Shimane Prefectural Central Hospital, Izumo, JapanCorrespondence: Takeshi Morimoto, Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Hyogo Medical University, 1-1 Mukogawa, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, 663-8501, Japan, Tel +81-798-45-6879, Fax +81-798-45-6920, Email morimoto@kuhp.kyoto-u.ac.jpPurpose: Low total protein (TP) is associated with mortality among patients with specific diseases, but its association was uncertain among general patients. We evaluated the effects of low TP on in-hospital mortality among general inpatients.Patients and Methods: We used data from the Japan Adverse Drug Events study series. We enrolled adult inpatients (≥ 16 years) admitted to a tertiary care hospital between September 1 and November 30, 2013. We excluded patients with multiple myeloma, pregnant women, and bone marrow graft donors. Patient data were extracted from electronic medical records. All patients were stratified into those with and without malignancy and divided into the low and normal TP groups. Low TP was defined as < 6.5 g/dL. We compared the in-hospital mortality of the low and normal TP groups stratified by the presence of malignancy.Results: Among the 2235 enrolled patients (mean age, 67.8 years), the TP value was lower in 516 patients with malignancy than in 1719 patients without malignancy (6.6 g/dL vs 6.8 g/dL, P = 0.0002). Among patients without or with malignancy, 27% (462/1719) and 35% (183/516) were in the low TP group, respectively. Mortality was higher in the low TP group among patients without malignancy (23.2% vs 10.2%, P < 0.0001). Likewise, among patients with malignancy, mortality was higher in the low TP group (34.7% vs 11.3%, P = 0.0029). The adjusted hazard ratio of the low TP group was 1.75 (95% confidence interval, 1.04– 2.96) in patients without malignancy and 2.45 (95% confidence interval, 1.12– 5.37) in patients with malignancy, but the interaction was not significant (P = 0.23).Conclusion: Low TP values were associated with higher in-hospital mortality among general inpatients, and this association was observed among patients with and those without malignancy. Routinely measured TP should be utilized to risk stratification on admission.Keywords: admission, general patients, historical cohort study, mortality, total protein

Naoki Aoyama, Masashi Izumi, Toru Morimoto, Hiroyuki Wada, Junpei Dan, Yusuke Kasai, Yoshinori Satake, Koji Aso, Masahiko Ikeuchi Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Kochi Medical School, Kochi University, Nankoku, JapanCorrespondence: Masashi Izumi, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Kochi Medical School, Kochi University, 185-1 Oko-cho Kohasu, Nankoku, 783-8505, Japan, Tel +81-88-880-2386, Fax +81-88-880-2388, Email izumim@kochi-u.ac.jpPurpose: The mechanisms underlying chronic postsurgical pain after joint replacement (JR) are complex, and it has been suggested that chronic postsurgical pain can develop as a result of inadequate acute pain management. Few studies have addressed acute pain after JR using specific animal models. This study aimed to develop a novel JR model focused on postsurgical pain assessment and the time course of pain recovery.Materials and Methods: Rats were allocated to the following three groups: sham (joint exposure), joint destruction (JD; resection of the femoral head), and JR (femoral head replacement using an originally developed implant). The time course of postsurgical pain behavior was measured using a dynamic weight-bearing apparatus, along with radiological assessments. The expression of calcitonin gene-related peptide-immunoreactive (CGRP-IR) neurons in the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) was evaluated by immunohistochemistry on days 28 and 42.Results: The ratio of weight-bearing distribution in the JR group gradually recovered from day 14 and reached the same level as that in the sham group on day 42, which was significantly greater than that in the JD group after day 7 (p< 0.05). Radiologically, no significant issues were found, except for transient central migration of the implant in the JR group. The percentage of CGRP-IR DRG neurons in the JR group was significantly lower than that in the JD group on day 28 (mean, 37.4 vs 58.1%, p< 0.05) and day 42 (mean, 32.3 vs 50.0%, p< 0.05).Conclusion: Our novel JR model presented acute postsurgical pain behavior that was successfully recovered to the baseline level at day 42 after surgery. Difference of the pain manifestation between the JR and JD groups could be supported by the expression of CGRP-IR in DRG neurons. This model is the first step toward understanding detailed mechanisms of post-JR pain.Keywords: joint replacement, postsurgical pain, dynamic weight bearing, CGRP

We study how time- and angle-resolved photoemission (tr-ARPES) reveals the dynamics of BCS-type, s-wave superconducting systems with time-varying order parameters. Approximate methods are discussed, based on previous approaches to either optical conductivity or quantum dot transport, to enable computationally efficient prediction of photoemission spectra. One use of such predictions is to enable extraction of the underlying order parameter dynamics from experimental data, which is topical given the rapidly growing use of tr-ARPES in studying unconventional superconductivity. The methods considered model the two-time lesser Green's functions with an approximated lesser self-energy that describes relaxation by coupling of the system to two types of baths. The approach primarily used here also takes into consideration the relaxation of the excited states into equilibrium by explicitly including the level-broadening of the retarded and advanced Green's functions. We present equilibrium and nonequilibrium calculations of tr-ARPES spectrum from our model and discuss the signatures of different types of superconducting dynamics.

The second-order conductivity of a material, σ(2), relating current to the square of electric field, is nonzero only when inversion symmetry is broken, unlike the conventional linear conductivity. Second-order nonlinear optical responses are thus powerful tools in basic research as probes of symmetry breaking; they are also central to optical technology as the basis for generating photocurrents and frequency doubling. The recent surge of interest in Weyl semimetals with acentric crystal structures has led to the discovery of a host of σ(2)-related phenomena in this class of materials, such as polarization-selective conversion of light to dc current (photogalvanic effects) and the observation of giant second-harmonic generation (SHG) efficiency in TaAs at photon energy 1.5 eV. Here, we present measurements of the SHG spectrum of TaAs, revealing that the response at 1.5 eV corresponds to the high-energy tail of a resonance at 0.7 eV, at which point the second harmonic conductivity is approximately 200 times larger than seen in the standard candle nonlinear crystal, GaAs. This remarkably large SHG response provokes the question of ultimate limits on σ(2), which we address by a new theorem relating frequency-integrated nonlinear response functions to the third cumulant (or "skewness") of the polarization distribution function in the ground state.

Hiroki Teragawa,1 Takeshi Morimoto,2 Yuichi Fujii,1 Tomohiro Ueda,1 Mio Sakuma,2 Michio Shimabukuro,3 Osamu Arasaki,4 Koichi Node,5 Takashi Nomiyama,6 Shinichiro Ueda7 1Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, JR Hiroshima Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan; 2Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Hyogo College of Medicine, Nishinomiya, Japan; 3Deparment of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan; 4Department of Cardiology, Yuuai Medical Center, Tomigusuku, Okinawa, Japan; 5Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Saga University, Saga, Japan; 6Department of Diabetes, Metabolism and Endocrinology, International University of Health and Welfare Ichikawa Hospital, Ichikawa, Japan; 7Department of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, University of the Ryukyus, Nishihara, Okinawa, JapanCorrespondence: Hiroki Teragawa, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, JR Hiroshima Hospital, 3-1-36 Futabanosato, Higashi-ku, Hiroshima, 732-0052, Japan, Tel +81-82-262-1171, Fax +81-82-262-1449, Email hiroteraga71@gmail.comPurpose: The effects of two types of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors on renal function remain unclear. Thus, we investigated the effect of anagliptin (ANA) and sitagliptin (SITA) on renal function in patients with type 2 diabetes who participated in the randomized evaluation of ANA versus SITA on low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) in diabetes (REASON) trial.Patients and methods: We measured the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and urinary albumin–creatinine ratio (UACR) before and after the REASON trial. ANA 200 mg/day was administered to 177 patients for 52 weeks, while SITA 50 mg/day was given to 176 patients. We investigated the relationship between differences in renal function and differences in hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels, LDL-C levels, and blood pressure (BP).Results: No significant differences were found in baseline eGFR and UACR between the two groups. The eGFR levels were significantly decreased in both groups; however, the UACR level was unchanged in the ANA group but elevated in the SITA group, although the difference did not reach significance between the two groups. The difference in eGFR was affected by the differences in HbA1c level and BP, and the difference in the UACR was affected by the differences in LDL-C level and BP, which were reduced only in the ANA group.Conclusion: These findings imply that the effects of DPP-4 inhibitors on renal function, especially on UACR, may be different between the types of DPP-4 inhibitors.Keywords: glomerular filtration rate, dipeptidyl peptidase 4, dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitors, albuminuria

Yusuke Kasai, Koji Aso, Masashi Izumi, Hiroyuki Wada, Junpei Dan, Yoshinori Satake, Toru Morimoto, Masahiko Ikeuchi Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Kochi Medical School, Kochi University, Nankoku, 783-8505, JapanCorrespondence: Koji AsoDepartment of Orthopedic Surgery, Kochi Medical School, Kochi University, 185-1 Oko-cho Kohasu, Nankoku, 783-8505, JapanTel +81-88-880-2386Fax +81-88-880-2388Email koji.aso@gmail.comPurpose: Nonunion bone fracture can be a cause of persistent pain, but the pathophysiology remains largely unknown. The objective of this study was to identify how nonunion affect persistent pain after fracture. Specifically, we evaluated the association of neuropeptide change in dorsal root ganglia (DRG) and nerve proliferation at fracture sites with pain.Methods: Rat union and nonunion fracture models were created. A piece of latex glove was placed at the fracture site to create a nonunion model. At 6 weeks after surgery, bone healing was assessed using radiography. In addition, the presence of calcitonin gene-related peptide-immunoreactive (CGRP-IR) DRG at the level of L3 and anti-growth associated protein 43-immunoreactive (GAP43-IR) nerve fibers in the scar tissue between the bone fragments were evaluated. Pain-related behavior was assessed using forced treadmill running.Results: In radiological images at 6 weeks after surgery, callus formation was formed continuously between bone fragments in the union models. On the one hand, a clear gap was detected between fragments in nonunion models. The percentage of CGRP-IR DRG cells and the density of GAP43-IR nerve fibers in the scar tissue between the bone fragments in nonunion models was significantly higher than that in union models (p < 0.05). An increase in inflammatory cell infiltrate was observed in scar tissues in the nonunion models. During forced treadmill running, rats in the union model could run significantly longer than those in the nonunion models.Conclusion: Increased CGRP expression in DRG cells and abnormal nerve proliferation secondary to prolonged inflammation could lead to persistent pain after bone fracture. In clinical practice, early achievement of bone union may minimize the development of persistent pain after fractures.Keywords: fracture pain, nerve proliferation, nonunion of fractures

Masashi Izumi,1 Yohei Harada,2,3 Yukihiro Kajita,2 Yoshitaka Muramatsu,2,4 Toru Morimoto,1 Yutaka Morisawa,5 Yusuke Iwahori,2,6 Masahiko Ikeuchi1 1Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Kochi Medical School, Kochi University, Nankoku-City, Japan; 2Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Aichi Medical University, Nagakute, Japan; 3Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan; 4Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Saiseikai Futsukaichi Hospital, Futsukaichi, Japan; 5Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Aki General Hospital, Aki, Japan; 6Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Sports Medicine and Joint Center, Asahi Hospital, Kasugai, JapanCorrespondence: Masashi IzumiDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Kochi Medical School, Kochi University, 185-1 Kohasu, Oko-cho, Nankoku-City, Kochi Pref, 783-8505, JapanTel +81 88-880-2386Fax +81 88-880-2388Email izumim@kochi-u.ac.jpPurpose: Degenerative long head of biceps tendon (LHBT) has been recognized as a notable pain source in patients with rotator cuff tear (RCT). Tenotomy or tenodesis of LHBT is frequently indicated together with arthroscopic rotator cuff repair (ARCR) aiming for complete pain relief; however, it has not been fully investigated whether resected LHBT is really a source of pain. The purpose of this study was to investigate expression levels of pain-associated mediators in LHBT and its association with preoperative pain profiles.Methods: Twenty-seven RCT patients who underwent ARCR with LHBT resection were included. Each LHBT was resected due to its abnormal arthroscopic findings including tenosynovitis, hypertrophy, and partial tear. Worst macroscopic lesion of the LHBT was obtained, and expression levels of substance P (SP) and nerve growth factor (NGF) were evaluated using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Ten healthy knee flexor tendons were analyzed as non-degenerative samples. Preoperatively, subjective shoulder pain VAS and pain duration were investigated. Conventional LHBT pain provocation tests (Speed, Yergason, O’Brien) were performed. Pressure pain threshold (PPT) of bilateral LHBT on the groove was recorded.Results: Levels of SP and NGF expression were significantly higher compared with non-degenerative tendons (P< 0.01). Shoulder pain VAS and pain duration were not directly associated with SP and NGF expression level. Patients with positive O’Brien test expressed greater SP than negative patients (P=0.001). Significant negative correlation between the PPT ratio (ipsilateral/contralateral) and SP expression level was observed (r=− 0.453, P=0.034).Conclusion: Greater expression of SP and NGF in degenerative LHBT supported our hypothesis that it would be a pain source in RCT patients. SP was likely to be expressed highly in patients with localized pressure pain hypersensitivity and positive O’Brien test (ie, altered mechanistic pain profile of LHBT), which may help when considering simultaneous LHBT resection during ARCR.Clinical Registration: UMIN000023943.Keywords: long head of biceps tendon, pain, tendinopathy, substance P, nerve growth factor, pressure pain threshold

Although Weyl fermions have proven elusive in high-energy physics, their existence as emergent quasiparticles has been predicted in certain crystalline solids in which either inversion or time-reversal symmetry is broken. Recently they have been observed in transition metal monopnictides (TMMPs) such as TaAs, a class of noncentrosymmetric materials that heretofore received only limited attention. The question that arises now is whether these materials will exhibit novel, enhanced, or technologically applicable electronic properties. The TMMPs are polar metals, a rare subset of inversion-breaking crystals that would allow spontaneous polarization, were it not screened by conduction electrons. Despite the absence of spontaneous polarization, polar metals can exhibit other signatures of inversion-symmetry breaking, most notably second-order nonlinear optical polarizability, χ (2) , leading to phenomena such as optical rectification and second-harmonic generation (SHG). Here we report measurements of SHG that reveal a giant, anisotropic χ (2) in the TMMPs TaAs, TaP and NbAs. With the fundamental and second-harmonic fields oriented parallel to the polar axis, the value of χ (2) is larger by almost one order of magnitude than its value in the archetypal electro-optic materials GaAs and ZnTe, and in fact larger than reported in any crystal to date.

Hiroki Teragawa,1 Takeshi Morimoto,2 Yuichi Fujii,1 Tomohiro Ueda,1 Mio Sakuma,2 Michio Shimabukuro,3 Osamu Arasaki,4 Koichi Node,5 Takashi Nomiyama,6 Shinichiro Ueda7 1Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, JR Hiroshima Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan; 2Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Hyogo College of Medicine, Nishinomiya, Japan; 3Department of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan; 4Department of Cardiology, Tomishiro Central Hospital, Tomigusuku, Okinawa, Japan; 5Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Saga University, Saga, Japan; 6Department of Endocrinology and Diabetes Mellitus, Fukuoka University, Fukuoka, Japan; 7Department of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, University of the Ryukyus, Nishihara, Okinawa, JapanCorrespondence: Hiroki TeragawaDepartment of Cardiovascular Medicine, JR Hiroshima Hospital, 3-1-36 Futabanosato, Higashi-ku, Hiroshima 732-0052, JapanTel +81-82-262-1171Fax +81-82-262-1499Email hiroteraga71@gmail.omPurpose: Experimental evidence has suggested that dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors have an anti-inflammatory effect as well as a glucose-lowering effect, but this has yet to be confirmed in diabetic patients. Therefore, we examined the anti-inflammatory effects of two kinds of DPP-4 inhibitors in patients who participated in the randomized evaluation of anagliptin (ANA) vs sitagliptin (SITA) on low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in diabetes (REASON) Trial, which compared low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol lowering effects between (ANA) and SITA in patients with type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia, and atherosclerotic vascular lesions.Patients and Methods: The studied patients consisted of 177 patients who received ANA 200 mg per day and 176 patients who received SITA 50 mg per day for 52 weeks. We measured high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), white blood cells (WBC), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) before and after treatment for 52 weeks, and the changes in inflammatory markers were measured as the differences between baseline and 52 weeks. Furthermore, we checked the relationship between the change in hs-CRP and several clinical factors such as the baseline hs-CRP level, use of a moderate-intensity statin, presence of coronary artery disease (CAD) and taking a previous DDP-4 inhibitor.Results: The levels of the inflammatory markers hs-CRP, WBC, and IL-6 were determined to have not significantly changed from baseline to the final follow-up in each arm; furthermore, the changes in these markers were not significantly different between the two groups. The change in hs-CRP level was not affected by the baseline hs-CRP level, use of a moderate-intensity statin, presence of coronary artery disease, and absence of prior DPP-4 inhibitor use.Conclusion: In this sub-analysis from the REASON Trial, taking a DPP-4 inhibitor, either ANA or SITA, for 52 weeks did not affect the levels of inflammatory markers.Keywords: C-reactive protein, dipeptidyl peptidase-4, DPP-4 inhibitor, inflammation, interleukin-6, white blood cell

Hideki Arai,1,2 Jiro Takeuchi,2 Masafumi Nozoe,3 Tatsuyuki Fukuoka,4 Satoru Matsumoto,1 Takeshi Morimoto2 1Department of Rehabilitation, Toyonaka Heisei Hospital, Toyonaka, Osaka, Japan; 2Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Hyogo College of Medicine, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, Japan; 3Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Nursing and Rehabilitation, Konan Women’s University, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan; 4Department of Rehabilitation, Faculty of Rehabilitation, Hiroshima International University, Higashihiroshima, Hiroshima, JapanCorrespondence: Takeshi MorimotoDepartment of Clinical Epidemiology, Hyogo College of Medicine, 1-1, Mukogawa-cho, Nishinomiya-City, Hyogo 663-8501, JapanTel +81-798-45-6111Fax +81-798-45-6920Email morimoto@kuhp.kyoto-u.ac.jpPurpose: This study evaluates the effect of introducing active gait training (AGT) to patients who are severely disabled with nasogastric tube feeding or gastrostoma on the recovery of oral feeding.Patients and Methods: We conducted a historical cohort study at a single rehabilitation center in Japan between January 2013 and December 2019. In this study, 154 severely disabled patients with nasogastric tube feeding or gastrostoma due to neurological diseases or disuse syndrome admitted in a rehabilitation ward were included, and their median age was 84 years. AGT was systematically implemented in August 2016, which consisted of using orthosis or assistance from physical therapists. We compared the recovery of oral feeding between periods before (Pre-AGT) and after (Post-AGT) the introduction of AGT.Results: Among the 154 severely disabled patients included, 59 (38%) were admitted in the Post-AGT period. Twenty-eight (30%) and 54 patients (92%) started gait training in the Pre-AGT and Post-AGT periods, respectively (p < 0.001). Significantly more patients recovered oral feeding in the Post-AGT than in the Pre-AGT periods (49% vs 19%, respectively; p < 0.001). After the introduction of AGT, the adjusted hazard ratio for the recovery of oral feeding was 4.0 (95% confidence interval, 1.9– 8.3; p < 0.001).Conclusion: After the introduction of AGT to patients, increased recovery of oral feeding was observed in this retrospective evaluation. AGT should be considered for patients with tube feeding to help them recover oral feeding even if patients were severely disabled and required full assistance during gait training.Keywords: active gait training, dysphagia, lateral hypothalamus, oral feeding, orexin, tube feeding

We construct and classify chiral topological phases in driven (Floquet) systems of strongly interacting bosons, with finite-dimensional site Hilbert spaces, in two spatial dimensions. The construction proceeds by introducing exactly soluble models with chiral edges, which in the presence of many-body localization (MBL) in the bulk are argued to lead to stable chiral phases. These chiral phases do not require any symmetry and in fact owe their existence to the absence of energy conservation in driven systems. Surprisingly, we show that they are classified by a quantized many-body index, which is well defined for any MBL Floquet system. The value of this index, which is always the logarithm of a positive rational number, can be interpreted as the entropy per Floquet cycle pumped along the edge, formalizing the notion of quantum-information flow. We explicitly compute this index for specific models and show that the nontrivial topology leads to edge thermalization, which provides an interesting link between bulk topology and chaos at the edge. We also discuss chiral Floquet phases in interacting fermionic systems and their relation to chiral bosonic phases.

Periodic driving of a quantum system can enable new topological phases with no analog in static systems. In this paper, we systematically classify one-dimensional topological and symmetry-protected topological (SPT) phases in interacting fermionic and bosonic quantum systems subject to periodic driving, which we dub Floquet SPTs (FSPTs). For physical realizations of interacting FSPTs, many-body localization by disorder is a crucial ingredient, required to obtain a stable phase that does not catastrophically heat to infinite temperature. We demonstrate that 1D bosonic and fermionic FSPT phases are classified by the same criteria as equilibrium phases but with an enlarged symmetry group G, which now includes discrete time translation symmetry associated with the Floquet evolution. In particular, 1D bosonic FSPTs are classified by projective representations of the enlarged symmetry group H2(G ;U(1)). We construct explicit lattice models for a variety of systems and then formalize the classification to demonstrate the completeness of this construction. We advocate that a prototypical Z2 bosonic FSPT may be realized by very simple Hamiltonians of the type currently available in existing cold atoms and trapped ion experiments.

Masakazu Hirota,1 Hiroyuki Kanda,1 Takao Endo,2 Takeshi Morimoto,1 Tomomitsu Miyoshi,3 Takashi Fujikado1 1Department of Applied Visual Science, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Suita, Osaka, Japan; 2Department of Ophthalmology, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Izumi, Osaka, Japan; 3Department of Integrative Physiology, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Suita, Osaka, Japan Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate binocular coordination using video-oculography during smartphone reading in patients with intermittent exotropia compared to individuals with normal vision. Patients and methods: Eleven youth and adult patients with intermittent exotropia (21.9±9.3 years) and 15 control subjects (26.6±4.3 years) were examined. Eye movements were recorded during smartphone reading at 50, 30, and 20 cm using video-oculography. The loss of binocular coordination was tentatively defined as a horizontal disparity greater than 2°. The proportion of monocular viewing was the percentage of time for which binocularity was lost during smartphone reading. The proportion of monocular viewing, the reading speed, and the correlation between proportion of monocular viewing and reading speed were analyzed. Results: The proportion of monocular viewing during smartphone reading was significantly higher in the intermittent exotropia group than in the control group (P