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Abstract Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) react to various stress conditions. However, it is unclear whether and how HSCs respond to severe anemia. Here, we demonstrate that upon induction of acute anemia, HSCs rapidly proliferate and enhance their erythroid differentiation potential. In severe anemia, lipoprotein profiles largely change and the concentration of ApoE increases. In HSCs, transcription levels of lipid metabolism-related genes, such as very low-density lipoprotein receptor (Vldlr), are upregulated. Stimulation of HSCs with ApoE enhances their erythroid potential, whereas HSCs in Apoe knockout mice do not respond to anemia induction. VldlrhighHSCs show higher erythroid potential, which is enhanced after acute anemia induction. VldlrhighHSCs are epigenetically distinct because of their low chromatin accessibility, and more chromatin regions are closed upon acute anemia induction. Chromatin regions closed upon acute anemia induction are mainly binding sites of Erg. Inhibition of Erg enhanced the erythroid differentiation potential of HSCs. Our findings indicate that lipoprotein metabolism plays an important role in HSC regulation under severe anemic conditions.

ABSTRACTThe selection of the sowing date is one of the most important decisions in soybean production. It is important for farmers to know the expected seed yield when developing a sowing plan. The objective of this study was to quantitatively reveal the decreased seed yield ratio during late sowing in southwestern Japan under irrigated conditions. Total above ground dry matter and distribution were measured from July to August sowing in 2018 and 2019 in Fukuyama, Hiroshima, Japan. The harvest index in the August sowing did not decrease compared to the July sowing under irrigated conditions. The decrease in yield was related to the total aboveground dry matter rather than to the harvest index. The decrease in total aboveground dry matter was related to the total amount of solar radiation intercepted rather than to radiation use efficiency. A significant regression equation was obtained for the relative yield, which was calculated from the maximum seed yield observed from early to mid-July. When seeds were sown after mid-July, our result showed that the seed yield will decrease by 0.60% per day for Sachiyutaka A1 and by 0.64% for Akimaro, even under conditions of 100% seedling establishment and controlled soil water conditions. This regression equation can be used in fields as an indicator of seed yield where irrigation is possible.

Abstract Background Progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis type 2 (PFIC2) is an ultra-rare disease caused by mutations in the ABCB11 gene. This study aimed to understand the course of PFIC2 during the native liver period. Methods From November 2014 to October 2015, a survey to identify PFIC2 patients was conducted in 207 hospitals registered with the Japanese Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition. Investigators retrospectively collected clinical data at each facility in November 2018 using pre-specified forms. Results Based on the biallelic pathogenic variants in ABCB11 and/or no hepatic immunohistochemical detection of BSEP, 14 Japanese PFIC2 patients were enrolled at seven facilities. The median follow-up was 63.2 [47.7–123.3] months. The median age of disease onset was 2.5 [1–4] months. Twelve patients underwent living donor liver transplantation (LDLT), with a median age at LDLT of 9 [4–57] months. Two other patients received sodium 4-phenylbutyrate (NaPB) therapy and survived over 60 months with the native liver. No patients received biliary diversion. The cases that resulted in LDLT had gradually deteriorated growth retardation, biochemical tests, and liver histology since the initial visit. In the other two patients, jaundice, growth retardation, and most of the biochemical tests improved after NaPB therapy was started, but pruritus and liver fibrosis did not. Conclusions Japanese PFIC2 patients had gradually worsening clinical findings since the initial visit, resulting in LDLT during infancy. NaPB therapy improved jaundice and growth retardation but was insufficient to treat pruritus and liver fibrosis.

This paper presents visual feedback 3D pose estimation/regulation methodologies in the sampled data setting by camera frame rates. Vision-based estimation/control problems have been studied by a number of research groups. While most works focus on the limitation of measured outputs, they conduct convergence/performance analysis under the assumption that visual measurements extracted from a camera are continuously available. However, the camera frame rates including image processing time often cannot be neglected compared with other computation time. In view of this fact, this paper newly proposes visual feedback pose estimation/regulation techniques under the situation that visual measurements are sampled due to the frame rates. The problem settings are first provided. Then, the pose estimation/regulation methods with sampled visual measurements are proposed. The convergence/performance analysis is conducted by the fusion of a Lyapunov-based approach and an event-triggered control technique. The present analysis scheme provides us guidelines for the design of estimation/control gains guaranteeing desired convergence/performance. The effectiveness of the present technique is verified via simulation and an experiment with real hardware.

Abstract Choline is an essential nutrient, and its deficiency causes steatohepatitis. Dietary phosphatidylcholine (PC) is digested into lysoPC (LPC), glycerophosphocholine, and choline in the intestinal lumen and is the primary source of systemic choline. However, the major PC metabolites absorbed in the intestinal tract remain unidentified. ATP8B1 is a P4-ATPase phospholipid flippase expressed in the apical membrane of the epithelium. Here, we use intestinal epithelial cell (IEC)-specific Atp8b1-knockout (Atp8b1IEC-KO) mice. These mice progress to steatohepatitis by 4 weeks. Metabolomic analysis and cell-based assays show that loss of Atp8b1 in IEC causes LPC malabsorption and thereby hepatic choline deficiency. Feeding choline-supplemented diets to lactating mice achieves complete recovery from steatohepatitis in Atp8b1IEC-KO mice. Analysis of samples from pediatric patients with ATP8B1 deficiency suggests its translational potential. This study indicates that Atp8b1 regulates hepatic choline levels through intestinal LPC absorption, encouraging the evaluation of choline supplementation therapy for steatohepatitis caused by ATP8B1 dysfunction.

This paper presents a power-cycling degradation monitoring method of an IGBT module with a VCE(sat) sensing circuit and junction temperature prediction by a three-dimensional structure model. A chopper circuit was introduced to provide a continuous-current-conducting operation of the IGBT module. The VCE(sat) sensing circuit with a low-cost IoT platform “Leafony” was utilized to monitor the junction temperature of an IGBT chip, which transferred the measured signal as digital data, and thus obtained a higher noise immunity than an analog-based circuit. The junction temperature of IGBT chip in the power module was analyzed from the dissipated power of IGBT and the transient thermal impedance between the chips and the ambient. This analysis is effective not only to observe the degradation but also to estimate the thermal resistance. Comparing the temperature profile between experiment and prediction provides health condition of the IGBT model.Predicted thermal profiles agreed with measured ones with 10 % increase of thermal resistance, which was degraded by a power cycle tester. From these results, the proposed monitoring method is effective to detect the progress of power cycle degradation.

ABSTRACT Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) are one of the most detrimental species of antibiotic-resistant bacteria globally. Phage therapy has emerged as an effective strategy for the treatment of CPE infections. In western Japan, the rise of Klebsiella pneumoniae strains harboring the pKPI-6 plasmid encoding bla IMP-6 is of increasing concern. To address this challenge, we isolated 29 phages from Japanese sewage, specifically targeting 31 K. pneumoniae strains and one Escherichia coli strain harboring the pKPI-6 plasmid. Electron microscopy analysis revealed that among the 29 isolated phages, 21 (72.4%), 5 (17.2%), and 3 (10.3%) phages belonged to myovirus, siphovirus, and podovirus morphotypes, respectively. Host range analysis showed that 18 Slopekvirus strains within the isolated phages infected 25–26 K. pneumoniae strains, indicating that most of the isolated phages have a broad host range. Notably, K. pneumoniae strain Kp21 was exclusively susceptible to phage øKp_21, whereas Kp22 exhibited susceptibility to over 20 phages. Upon administering a phage cocktail composed of 10 phages, we observed delayed emergence of phage-resistant bacteria in Kp21 but not in Kp22. Intriguingly, phage-resistant Kp21 exhibited heightened sensitivity to other bacteriophages, indicating a “trade-off” for resistance to phage øKp_21. Our proposed phage set has an adequate number of phages to combat the K. pneumoniae strain prevalent in Japan, underscoring the potential of a well-designed phage cocktail in mitigating the occurrence of phage-resistant bacteria. IMPORTANCE The emergence of Klebsiella pneumoniae harboring the bla IMP-6 plasmid poses an escalating threat in Japan. In this study, we found 29 newly isolated bacteriophages that infect K. pneumoniae strains carrying the pKPI-6 plasmid from clinical settings in western Japan. Our phages exhibited a broad host range. We applied a phage cocktail treatment composed of 10 phages against two host strains, Kp21 and Kp22, which displayed varying phage susceptibility patterns. Although the phage cocktail delayed the emergence of phage-resistant Kp21, it was unable to hinder the emergence of phage-resistant Kp22. Moreover, the phage-resistant Kp21 became sensitive to other phages that were originally non-infective to the wild-type Kp21 strains. Our study highlights the potential of a well-tailored phage cocktail in reducing the occurrence of phage-resistant bacteria.

Crop models can help in identifying constraints to crop production and enhancing crop yield. Because one of the major constraints is the availability of nitrogen for seed production, evaluation of nitrogen accumulation is important for soybean crop models. In the present study, we developed a soybean crop model to evaluate biomass production and nitrogen accumulation of Japanese soybean cultivars grown in upland fields converted from paddy fields. The model simplified the effects of leaf nitrogen deficit on biomass production by reducing only the leaf area while maintaining leaf nitrogen concentration, and we introduced a zero-order reaction kinetics model to estimate soil nitrogen supply. The proposed model was observed to simulate the accumulation of aboveground biomass and nitrogen content in both nodulating and non-nodulating soybean cultivars until the mid-seed filling period. The model accounts for 94% of the observed variations in aboveground biomass and nitrogen content and for 69% of the observed variation in seed biomass. The normalized root mean square errors of aboveground biomass, nitrogen content, and seed biomass are 19.3%, 19.6%, and 20.2%, respectively. Because the model does not include the effects of soil water status on pod formation and nitrogen fixation, seed biomass was overestimated in some cases. However, our model quantified the effects of changes in the soil nitrogen supply and biological nitrogen fixation on soybean production and will be useful for identifying and eliminating production constraints in Japanese soybeans.

Abstract Identification of arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) during childhood is challenging due to the lack of specific ECG manifestation. We report chronological ECG alteration before several years of the ARVC onset in two affected children. Their ECG at the age of 6 years was almost normal for their age, and their chronological ECGs exhibited inversion of T wave in inferior leads, which are typical for ARVC, developed at younger age than that in precordial leads. In addition, the leftmost T‐wave inversion in the precordial lead shifted toward the left in our patients, which is a sharp contrast to its physiological transition.

To prevent invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD), pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) have been implemented in many countries; however, many cases of IPD still occur and can be attributable to nonvaccine serotypes of Streptococcus pneumoniae. In Japan, the number of IPD cases attributable to serotype 12F increased from 4.4% in 2015 to 24.6% in 2017 after 13-valent PCV was introduced. To clarify the associated genetic characteristics, we conducted whole-genome sequencing of 75 serotype 12F isolates. We identified 2 sequence types (STs) among the isolates: ST4846, which was the major type, and ST6945. Bayesian analysis suggested that these types diverged in »1942. Among serotype 12F-ST4846, we identified a major cluster, PC-JP12F, whose time of most recent common ancestor was estimated to be »2012. A phylogeographic analysis demonstrated that PC-JP12F isolates spread from the Kanto region, the most populated region in Japan, to other local regions.

Several models have been proposed to simulate the leaf area index (LAI) in soybean (Glycine max L.); however, these models do not directly account for the effect of branch growth. Because the increases in branches and branch node vary with plant density, the evaluation of branch growth is necessary for the application of the LAI model at various plant densities. In this study, we developed an LAI model for soybean, considering the branch growth and leaf elongation at each node. To simplify this model, we estimated the rate of branch and branch node increase based on the rate of main stem node increase. Branch growth was assumed to be restricted when the fraction of canopy radiation interception was increased. Moreover, we calculated the leaf area growth at each node based on leaf elongation at each leaflet. This LAI model was validated using the data of different years and plant densities for model calibration, and it estimated the LAI with a root mean square error of 0.76, which accounted for 92% of the variation in the data. Although further evaluation is needed, the LAI model proposed in this study reveals a high potential for accurate estimation of LAI at various plant densities.

We analyze the smartphone usage behavior of individuals against the background of the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) to classify usage behaviors and examine the factors that lead to change. Specifically, we examine the differences in smartphone usage between the first wave and the second wave of the epidemic in Japan. On average, the frequency of use increased, especially during the first wave of the epidemic. Next, we classify the changes in usage behavior and examine the differences between individuals whose smartphone usage time increased and those whose usage time decreased. Our analysis using personal characteristics as explanatory variables suggests that demographic variables may explain behavioral changes. We were able to classify the factors into three categories: positive factors that promote an increase in usage time, negative factors that promote a decrease, and variation factors that promote fluctuations.

Urea cycle disorders (UCDs), inborn errors of hepatocyte metabolism, cause hyperammonemia and lead to neurocognitive deficits, coma, and even death. Sodium 4-phenylbutyrate (NaPB), a standard adjunctive therapy for UCDs, generates an alternative pathway of nitrogen deposition through glutamine consumption. Administration during or immediately after a meal is the approved usage of NaPB. However, we previously found that preprandial oral administration enhanced its potency in healthy adults and pediatric patients with intrahepatic cholestasis. The present study evaluated the effect of food on the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of NaPB in five patients with UCDs. Following an overnight fast, NaPB was administered orally at 75 mg/kg/dose (high dose, HD) or 25 mg/kg/dose (low dose, LD) either 15 min before or immediately after breakfast. Each patient was treated with these four treatment regimens with NaPB. With either dose, pre-breakfast administration rather than post-breakfast administration significantly increased plasma PB levels and decreased plasma glutamine availability. Pre-breakfast LD administration resulted in a greater attenuation in plasma glutamine availability than post-breakfast HD administration. Plasma levels of branched-chain amino acids decreased to the same extent in all tested regimens. No severe adverse events occurred during this study. In conclusion, preprandial oral administration of NaPB maximized systemic exposure of PB and thereby its efficacy on glutamine consumption in patients with UCDs.

It has not been fully understood in real fields what environment stimuli cause the genotype-by-environment (G × E) interactions, when they occur, and what genes react to them. Large-scale multi-environment data sets are attractive data sources for these purposes because they potentially experienced various environmental conditions. Here we developed a data-driven approach termed Environmental Covariate Search Affecting Genetic Correlations (ECGC) to identify environmental stimuli and genes responsible for the G × E interactions from large-scale multi-environment data sets. ECGC was applied to a soybean (Glycine max) data set that consisted of 25,158 records collected at 52 environments. ECGC illustrated what meteorological factors shaped the G × E interactions in six traits including yield, flowering time, and protein content and when these factors were involved in the interactions. For example, it illustrated the relevance of precipitation around sowing dates and hours of sunshine just before maturity to the interactions observed for yield. Moreover, genome-wide association mapping on the sensitivities to the identified stimuli discovered candidate and known genes responsible for the G × E interactions. Our results demonstrate the capability of data-driven approaches to bring novel insights on the G × E interactions observed in fields.

Abstract Background In recent years, the evaluation of convenience food has changed. It came to be considered not to have a negative effect on health and is now positioned as a tool to support dietary habits of elderly and other people. In advanced countries where the population is aging, convenience foods are expected to improve the eating habits of the elderly. Methods We defined the indicators of cooking effort and usage intensity of convenience food and presented a model wherein a “meal” is home-produced. In the model, a home cook decides the optimal cooking effort to apply for a given usage intensity of convenience food. Using an empirical form of the proposed model, we performed a multiple regression analysis and calculated “the elasticity of cooking effort with respect to the usage intensity of convenience food” for home cooks, with each attribute defined by a combination of different personality and demographic factors, using the estimated coefficients. Results Regression analysis results revealed a negative correlation between cooking effort and the usage intensity of convenience food, which is consistent with our theoretical model of home meal production. The results showed that home cooks who have special food preferences may not be satisfied with accepting convenience foods purchased from the market as they are and that these home cooks will require a higher cooking effort to obtain higher satisfaction. The elasticity of elderly home cooks was low, implying that they are not flexible enough to accept convenience food. Conclusions The results revealed that existing convenience foods do not have the same impact on home cooks with attributes. This problem can be solved with smart food systems that utilize information and communication technology, which allow home cooks to explore information on convenience foods that match their preferences and enable food providers to offer food that matches the specific tastes of home cooks. The regression results suggest this possibility.

Abstract Background Sporadic inclusion body myositis (sIBM) is the most prevalent muscle disease in elderly people, affecting the daily activities. sIBM is progressive with unknown cause and without effective treatment. In 2015, sIBM was classified as an intractable disease by the Japanese government, and the treatment cost was partly covered by the government. This study aimed to examine the changes in the number of patients with sIBM over the last 10 years and to elucidate the cross-sectional profile of Japanese patients with sIBM. Methods The number of sIBM patients was estimated through a reply-paid postcard questionnaire for attending physicians. Only patients diagnosed as “definite” or “probable” sIBM by clinical and biopsy sIBM criteria were included in this study (Lancet Neurol 6:620-631, 2007, Neuromuscul Disord 23:1044-1055, 2013). Additionally, a registered self-administered questionnaire was also sent to 106 patients who agreed to reply via their attending physician, between November 2016 and March 2017. Results The number of patients diagnosed with sIBM for each 5-year period was 286 and 384 in 2011 and 2016, respectively. Inability to stand-up, cane-dependent gait, inability to open a plastic bottle, choking on food ingestion, and being wheelchair-bound should be included as sIBM milestones. Eight patients were positive for anti-hepatitis C virus antibody; three of them were administered interferon before sIBM onset. Steroids were administered to 33 patients (31.1%) and intravenous immunoglobulin to 46 patients (43.4%). From 2016 to 2017, total of 70 patients applied for the designated incurable disease medical expenses subsidy program. Although the treatment cost was partly covered by the government, many patients expressed psychological/mental and financial anxieties. Conclusions We determined the cross-sectional profile of Japanese patients with sIBM. Continuous support and prospective surveys are warranted.

Carbon pricing, such as a carbon tax, is an invisible hand that leads to the construction of a sustainable low-carbon society, and precise analysis of the impact of carbon pricing on each sector of the economy is indispensable for its design. In this study, an equilibrium price model based on the 2015 input-output table was used for the analysis of next-generation energy systems (2015 IONGES) and the effect of the introduction of a carbon tax on the price of the industrial sector was assessed. Based on the existing energy-related tax system in Japan, the introduction of a carbon tax is regarded as an increase in the tax for global-warming countermeasures (TGWC) in the petroleum and coal tax (PCT). While existing energy-related taxes are designed to place a relatively heavy burden on the transportation sector, tax reform of the petroleum and coal tax has a relatively large effect on raising prices in energy-conversion and energy-intensive sectors. As a result, the reform of the energy-related tax may promote the introduction of energy-saving technology and decarbonization technology, both in the transportation sector and in a wider range of sectors, and may work to correct the unfairness of the tax burden between sectors.

In this paper, a distributed 3-D pose synchronization law is proposed for a group of networked quadrotors. The quadrotor network consisting of multiple quadrotors with dynamics and interconnection topology between them is first defined, and then, the definition of pose synchronization is provided. A novel pose synchronization law is next proposed, where linear approximation and passivation approaches are employed in the controller design. The former allows us to independently deal with the yaw, vertical, and horizontal motion dynamics of the quadrotor network, and the latter enables us to apply a passivity-based output synchronization technique. Convergence is next analyzed, and finally, the present pose synchronization law is demonstrated via simulation and an experiment to show its validity.

After the introduction of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines, the incidence of pneumococcal infections due to meropenem-resistant serotype 15A-ST63 strains increased in Japan. By using whole-genome sequencing and comparing sequences with those of clones from the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada, we clarified the traits of the serotype 15A-ST63 clone. Our analysis revealed that the meropenem-resistant serotype 15A-ST63 strains from Japan originated from meropenem-susceptible strains from Japan. Recombination site prediction analysis showed that the meropenem-resistant strain-specific recombination regions included the pbp1a and pbp2b regions. A detailed analysis of the composition of these genes indicated that resistance seems to be caused by pbp1a recombination. The pbp1a gene in meropenem-resistant isolates was identical to that in multidrug (including meropenem)–resistant serotype 19A-ST320 pneumococci, which have spread in the United States. The global spread of pneumococci of this lineage is noteworthy because serotype 15A is not included in the currently used 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine.

Progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis type 1 (PFIC1), a rare inherited recessive disease resulting from a genetic deficiency in ATP8B1, progresses to liver failure. Because of the difficulty of discriminating PFIC1 from other subtypes of PFIC based on its clinical and histological features and genome sequencing, an alternative method for diagnosing PFIC1 is desirable. Herein, we analyzed human peripheral blood monocyte-derived macrophages (HMDM) and found predominant expression of ATP8B1 in interleukin-10 (IL-10)-induced M2c, a subset of alternatively activated macrophages. SiRNA-mediated depletion of ATP8B1 in IL-10-treated HMDM markedly suppressed the expression of M2c-related surface markers and increased the side scatter (SSC) of M2c, likely via impairment of the IL-10/STAT3 signal transduction pathway. These phenotypic features were confirmed in IL-10-treated HMDM from four PFIC1 patients with disease-causing mutations in both alleles, but not in those from four patients with other subtypes of PFIC. This method identified three PFIC1 patients in a group of PFIC patients undiagnosed by genome sequencing, an identical diagnostic outcome to that achieved by analysis of liver specimens and in vitro mutagenesis studies. In conclusion, ATP8B1 deficiency caused incomplete polarization of HMDM into M2c. Phenotypic analysis of M2c helps to identify PFIC1 patients with no apparent disease-causing mutations in ATP8B1.

This paper studies visual feedback position tracking control of two-wheeled vehicles in the situation that a camera and a target object are attached to the vehicles, respectively. Here, the body velocity of the target object vehicle is modeled as a Fourier series expansion. The relative position between the camera and the target object is controlled to the desired relative position. The present control law is based only on visual measurements, and the necessary information to implement the law is estimated from them. The asymptotic stability of the equilibrium of the total system including the internal attitude behavior is analyzed under some conditions of the target object vehicle velocity via stability theory of perturbed systems. Finally, a numerical simulation is conducted to show the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Abstract Background Sporadic inclusion body myositis (sIBM) is the most prevalent acquired muscle disease in the elderly. sIBM is an intractable and progressive disease of unknown cause and without effective treatment. The etiology of sIBM is still unknown; however, genetic factors, aging, lifestyles, and environmental factors may be involved. The purpose of this study is to elucidate the cross-sectional profile of patients affected by sIBM in Japan. Methods We surveyed patient data for 146 cases diagnosed at a number of centers across Japan. We also issued a questionnaire for 67 patients and direct caregivers to further elucidate the natural history of the disease. Results The mean age at the onset was 63.4 ± 9.2 years. The mean length of time from the onset to diagnosis was 55.52 ± 49.72 months, suggesting that there is a difficulty in diagnosing this disease with long-term consequences because of late treatment. 73 % described the psychological/mental aspect of the disease. The most popular primary caregiver was the patient’s spouse and 57 % patients mentioned that they were having problems managing the finances. Conclusions Through these surveys, we described the cross-sectional profiles of sIBM in Japan. Many patients described psychological/mental and financial anxiety because of the aged profile of sIBM patients. The profiles of sIBM patients are similar to those in Western countries.

Several pancreatitis susceptibility genes have been identified to date. A relationship between a mutation in the cationic trypsinogen (protease serine 1, PRSS1) gene and hereditary pancreatitis (HP) was first identified in 1996. Currently, HP has been defined as either two or more individuals within a family exhibiting pancreatitis for two or more generations, or pancreatitis linked to mutation of the PRSS1 gene. In 2000, a mutation in the serine protease inhibitor gene (Kazal type 1: SPINK1) was reported to be related to sporadic pancreatitis of unknown etiology. This paper reviews and summarizes the current published data on the pancreatitis susceptibility genes, mainly PRSS1 and SPINK1 genes, and introduces a diagnostic and therapeutic approach for dealing with patients with these gene mutations. Patients with these genetic predispositions, both children and adults, have often been initially diagnosed with idiopathic acute pancreatitis, in approximately 20–50% of pediatric cases and 28–80% of adult cases. In such patients, where the etiology is unknown, genetic testing, which requires pre-test and post-test genetic counselling, may prove helpful. Patients with chronic pancreatitis (CP) due to SPINK1 gene mutation and HP patients have a potentially high risk of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, diabetes mellitus, and, of particular importance, pancreatic cancer. Thus, these patients require careful long-term follow-up and management. Specifically, symptomatic CP patients often need endoscopic therapy or surgery, often following a step-up approach beginning with endoscopic therapy and progressing to surgery if necessary, which is similar to the therapeutic approach for patients with CP due to other etiologies. It is important that clinicians are aware of the characteristics of patients with pancreatitis susceptibility genetic abnormalities.

For bulk doping, boron and phosphorus are usually used as p-type and n-type dopants, respectively. The distribution of these dopant concentrations in a silicon crystal along the vertical direction is governed by the segregation phenomena. As the segregation coefficient of phosphorus is small, phosphorus concentration distribution in a silicon crystal becomes inhomogeneous; inhomogeneous phosphorus concentration distribution affects the distribution of resistivity in the crystal. Therefore, it is important to control the phosphorus concentration distribution in a silicon crystal and make it uniform. In this study, by numerical analysis, we investigated the effect of the evaporation flux at the melt surface on phosphorus concentration distribution during the directional solidification process. To obtain a homogeneous phosphorus concentration distribution in the silicon crystal, we had to control the phosphorous evaporation flux at the melt surface and maintain approximately the same phosphorus concentration in the melt during the entire solidification process even though the growth rate was always changing.

Advances in the introduction of fluctuating renewable energies, such as photovoltaics (PV), have caused power-system destabilization. However, stability can be improved if consumers change the way they use power, moving to time slots when the PV output in an area is high. In large cities in developed countries, where the types of distributed energy resources are varied, demand side management (DSM) in which consumers share power supplies and adjust the demand has received considerable attention. Under effective DSM that uses the latest information and communication technology to maximize the use of renewable energy, we believe that sparing use of appliances is not the only solution to address global warming. If behavioral change shifts the use of domestic appliances from one time slot to other time slots, we do not have to abandon the use of these appliances. The aim of this study is to determine the possibility of such behavioral changes in people in order to provide basic information for operating an effective DSM. To that end, we conducted a questionnaire-based survey of 10,000 households in Japan. We investigated the proportion of people responding to a request for a demand response (DR) under the given presented reward in time slots when DSM by DR is required. We also analyzed the factors influencing people’s response to a request for a DR. Furthermore, based on the rewards likely to be achieved in the adjustable power market, we estimated how much adjustable power would be realized.