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Second harmonic generation (SHG) spectroscopy in the visible and infrared regions has been a useful tool to selectively probe electronic properties at surfaces and interfaces. By examining variation of SHG under a magnetic field, one can also evaluate magnetic properties at the surfaces/interfaces. When multiple elements are involved in SHG, however, it is difficult to separate their contributions. In order to meet the demand of studying increasingly complex magnetic multilayer materials, element selectivity is desired. Here, using an Fe-based multilayer sample with broken inversion symmetry, we present observation of magnetization-induced SHG in the soft x-ray regime around the Fe M-shell absorption edge. Significant variation of SHG signal was captured depending on the direction of the magnetic moment, assuring sensitivity of the measurement likely enhanced by the Fe M-edge inner-shell resonance. The present methodology paves the way for element specific studies of magnetic properties at buried interfaces.

Lacking the structural information of crystalline solids, the origin of the relaxation dynamics of metallic glasses is unclear. Here, we report the evolution of stress relaxation of high-entropy metallic glasses with distinct β relaxation behavior. The fraction of liquidlike zones, determined at each temperature by the intensity of stress decay, is shown to be directly related to both the aging process and the spectrum of relaxation modes obtained by mechanical spectroscopy. The results shed light on the intrinsic correlation between the static and dynamic mechanical response in high-entropy and conventional metallic glasses, pointing toward a sluggish diffusion high-entropy effect in the liquid dynamics.

Samples of the carbonaceous asteroid Ryugu were brought to Earth by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft. We analyzed 17 Ryugu samples measuring 1 to 8 millimeters. Carbon dioxide–bearing water inclusions are present within a pyrrhotite crystal, indicating that Ryugu’s parent asteroid formed in the outer Solar System. The samples contain low abundances of materials that formed at high temperatures, such as chondrules and calcium- and aluminum-rich inclusions. The samples are rich in phyllosilicates and carbonates, which formed through aqueous alteration reactions at low temperature, high pH, and water/rock ratios of

MR imaging can reflect the pathologic progression of carcinoma ex pleomorphic adenoma (CXPA). This study aimed to identify the imaging findings related to extracapsular invasion of CXPA. Additionally, the pathologic background of these findings was investigated.This retrospective study included 37 patients with histologically confirmed CXPA. Three radiologists independently evaluated whether the CXPA showed the following characteristic MR imaging findings: border, capsule, the corona sign on fat-saturated T2WI and contrast-enhanced fat-saturated T1WI, and the black ring sign. The corona sign appeared larger on fat-saturated and/or contrast-enhanced fat-saturated T1WI than on T1WI. The black ring sign was defined as an intratumoral nodule with a thick low-intensity rim on T2WI. Interreader agreement of the visual assessment was performed using κ analysis, and MR imaging and histopathologic findings were also correlated. Kaplan-Meier survival and the log-rank test were used to estimate the 3-year disease-free survival.MR imaging findings, especially peritumoral findings, showed a significant difference between invasive and noninvasive CXPA. The reliability was poor for the border and capsule. In contrast, it was good for the corona sign on fat-saturated and contrast-enhanced fat-saturated T1WI and the black ring sign. Pathologically, the corona sign reflected the invasiveness of the tumor and inflammatory cells, while the black ring sign reflected hyalinization or fibrosis. The corona sign also showed a significant difference in the 3-year disease-free survival.MR imaging findings, including the corona and black ring signs, reliably differentiated invasive and noninvasive CXPA. The corona sign can be used as a prognostic factor for CXPA.

The General Antiparticle Spectrometer (GAPS) is an upcoming balloon mission to measure low-energy cosmic-ray antinuclei during at least three ~35-day Antarctic flights. With its large geometric acceptance and novel exotic atom-based particle identification, GAPS will detect ~500 cosmic antiprotons per flight and produce a precision cosmic antiproton spectrum in the kinetic energy range of ~0.07-0.21 GeV/n at the top of the atmosphere. With these high statistics extending to lower energies than any previous experiment, and with complementary sources of experimental uncertainty compared to traditional magnetic spectrometers, the GAPS antiproton measurement will be sensitive to dark matter, primordial black holes, and cosmic ray propagation. The antiproton measurement will also validate the GAPS antinucleus identification technique for the antideuteron and antihelium rare-event searches. This analysis demonstrates the GAPS sensitivity to cosmic-ray antiprotons using a full instrument simulation and event reconstruction, and including solar and atmospheric effects., Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures, revision updated with addition of Figure 5 and slight changes in the text to match the version accepted by Astroparticle Physics

Low-energy cosmic ray antideuterons ($

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: An accurate assessment of the hemodynamics of an intracranial dural AVF is necessary for treatment planning. We aimed to investigate the utility of 4D-MRA based on superselective pseudocontinuous arterial spin-labeling with CENTRA-keyhole and view-sharing (4D-S-PACK) for the vessel-selective visualization of intracranial dural AVFs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the images of 21 patients (12 men and 9 women; mean age, 62.2 [SD,19.2] years) with intracranial dural AVFs, each of whom was imaged with DSA, 4D-S-PACK, and nonselective 4D-MRA based on pseudocontinuous arterial spin-labeling combined with CENTRA-keyhole and view-sharing (4D-PACK). The shunt location, venous drainage patterns, feeding artery identification, and Borden classification were evaluated by 2 observers using both MRA methods on separate occasions. Vessel selectivity was evaluated on 4D-S-PACK. RESULTS: Shunt locations were correctly evaluated in all 21 patients by both observers on both MRA methods. With 4D-S-PACK, observers 1 and 2 detected 76 (80.0%, P

The General Antiparticle Spectrometer (GAPS) experiment is a balloon payload designed to measure low-energy cosmic antinuclei during at least three $\sim$35-day Antarctic flights, with the first flight planned for December, 2022. With its large geometric acceptance and novel exotic atom-based particle identification method, GAPS will detect $\sim$1000 antiprotons per flight, producing a precision cosmic antiproton spectrum in the kinetic energy range of $0.03 - 0.23$ GeV/$n$ at float altitude (corresponding to $0.085- 0.30$ GeV/$n$ at the top of the atmosphere). With these high statistics in a measurement extending to lower energy than any previous experiment, and with orthogonal sources of systematic uncertainty compared to measurements made using traditional magnetic spectrometer techniques, the GAPS antiproton measurement will be sensitive to physics including dark matter annihilation, primordial black hole evaporation, and cosmic ray propagation. The antiproton measurement will also validate the GAPS exotic atom technique for the antideuteron and antihelium rare-event searches and provide insight into models of cosmic particle attenuation and production in the atmosphere. This contribution demonstrates the GAPS sensitivity to antiprotons using a full instrument simulation, event reconstruction, and solar and atmospheric effects.

The General Antiparticle Spectrometer (GAPS) is the first experiment optimized to identify low energy (

The COBAND is a project of an experimental search for the cosmic background neutrino decay [1] – [9] . The existence of the cosmic background neutrino is predicted as a relic of the big bang in the theoretical cosmology. Since the neutrino is found to have mass generations and mixing between them, a heavier neutrino is possible to decay to a lighter neutrino with a far-infrared photon, even though its lifetime is expected to be much longer than the age of the universe [10] . However, neither the cosmic background neutrino nor the neutrino decay is yet established experimentally. Only a lower limit in the order of 10 12 years is given on the heaviest neutrino lifetime. We, thus, search for photons which come from the cosmic background neutrino decays. The photons from the cosmic background neutrino decays are expected to shape a spectrum of a unique signature with a sharp edge at a wavelength of around 50μm depending on the heaviest neutrino mass. To identify the signature against the overwhelming zodiacal emission foreground as well as the cosmic infrared background, the photodetectors are required to have an ability to measure the FIR spectrum around 50pm with sufficient precision. Thus, we aim at developing a photodetector with capability of FIR photon-by-photon spectrometry. We employ superconducting tunnel junction (STJ) sensors in combination with cryogenic amplifiers for signal readout to maximize the potential of STJ.

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and National Building Research Organisation (NBRO) have been conducting projects to prevent and minimize landslide damages. Landslide early warning is one of the targets of the JICA-NBRO projects based on the analysis of rainfall indices. The analysis of these indices, such as working rainfall and Soil Water Index (SWI), was carried out. The Soil Water Index is an output of conceptual hydrological model representing soil water content. Time series of observed rainfall at 25 gauging stations from 2014 to 2020 were utilized to calculate rainfall indices. Moreover, past landslide records were utilized to analyze the correlation between landslide occurrences and the calculated rainfall indices. Results showed that most of the past landslides were caused by severe rainfall events in which Soil Water Index exceeded 112. Results also showed that small-scale slope failures were caused by relatively minor rainfall events. The critical values of rainfall indices causing landslides depend on the regional characteristics. The critical value in the south-western region tends to be higher than in the northern and southern regions. It seems that the higher rainfall in the south-western region increases the critical rainfall value of landslide occurrence. There is a possibility to improve the accuracy of landslide early warning by using the rainfall indices considering regional characteristics.

Fourteen districts were identified as landslide prone in Sri Lanka. These districts fall in the wet and intermediate climatological zones where annual rainfall is over 2000 mm. Short term heavy rainfall and long term cumulative rainfalls are active factors for landslide occurrences. In this study, to enhance the landslide prediction capacity and accuracy, two indices were analyzed; Short Term Rainfall Index—1.5 h. half period Working Rainfall and Long-Term Rainfall Index—Soil Water Index. Also, regional critical Soil Water Index values were evaluated for the analysis of regional geological and other parametric impact on landslides. Hydrological Tank Model simulations were used to calculate Soil Water Index and to predict landslides with snake curves and probability curves. In regional aspect, tank model parametric analysis was carried in determination of suitable parameter set for each soil conditions. Rainfall intensity acts as the main contributing factor for Soil Water Index. With probability curves, better predictions were obtained on regional based soil water index of greater than 100 values to identify the landslide occurrences even though the Short-Term rainfall did not exceed 10 mm. Region-wise Critical Soil Water Indexes were obtained by critical lines with soil parameters derived for Sri Lankan soil conditions. Better practices on landslide early warnings could be performed through these derived regional long-term Soil Water indexes. As a future development, it is expected to develop warning levels based on these critical values.

Herein we report the manipulation of perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA), a very important technique for spintronics devices, which is achieved in an all-solid-state redox (reduction/oxidation) device. The device consisted of NiCo2O4 (NCO) thin film with a c-axis orientation and a proton-conducting polymer (Nafion). The PMA of NCO can be manipulated in situ with low voltage (V ≤ 0.7 V) due to the utilization of a proton-conducting solid electrolyte. The magnetic anisotropy variation was quantitatively evaluated by an anomalous Hall measurement. The magnetic anisotropy field of the NCO thin film was successfully manipulated in the range of 5%, although the rotation of the easy axis of magnetization was not observed. This modulation is attributed to the strain and electronic configuration variation by proton insertion. This manipulation method for PMA with the solid electrolyte enables a variety of reservoir states and contributes to lower power consumption and high-precision machine learning.

BackgroundThe risk of pregnancy complications, such as gestational hypertension is high in pregnancies with SLE. In addition, the risk of flare is elevated if pregnancy occurs during the high disease activity. The EULAR recommendation provides a checklist for preconception counseling, in which patients with SLE desiring pregnancy were required the condition that the disease activity prior to pregnancy should be stable for 6-12 months in terms of serological activity (1). However, it does not provide specific criteria for serological activity so that physicians should evaluate the risk of pregnancy in each case by their clinical intuitions.ObjectivesIn order to uncover the present clinical situation for the acceptability of pregnancy in patients with SLE, we performed questionnaire survey to physicians regarding to the degree of serological activity.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was performed to physicians registered with the Japanese College of Rheumatology from December 2020 to January 2021 using the online survey. The questionnaire asked about the characteristics of physicians, facilities and the permission of pregnancies with SLE using vignette scenarios. In this study, data from vignettes of women visiting a regular outpatient clinic were used. The vignettes varied in age (28 or 35 years), duration of stable disease and serological activity. Analysis methods were descriptive statistics, chi-square test. generalized estimating equations (GEE) was performed to investigate the relationship between the determining permission for pregnancy and the scenario patient’s characteristics (age, period of stable disease, titer of anti ds-DNA antibody)ResultsThe questionnaire was distributed to 4946 physicians, and 463 responded. Completion rate (ratio agreed to participate/finished survey) of survey was 91.1%. The median age of physicians was 46 (interquartile range (IQR) 2-10). The specialty was rheumatology (84.9%), other internal medicine (8%), and pediatrics (5.6%). There were no significant differences in patient’s age about the acceptability of pregnancy (coeffficianet -0.02, 95% CI -0.17 -0.01, p=0.42). Case who had been stable for 6 months were more tolerant of pregnancy than case who had been stable for 3 months (coeffficianet 0.12, 95% CI 0.09-0.15, PConclusionWe found that even mild serological activity alone had a significant negative effect on the physician’s decision to allow pregnancy. We conclude that current physicians make cautious decisions about pregnancies of patients with SLE following the recommendation. On the other hand, an additional investigation should be performed about the results of pregnancies in patients with serological abnormalities, since there are some physicians who thought that pregnancy may be acceptable for patients with only serological abnormalities if the clinical symptoms are stable.References[1]Ann Rheum Dis．2017 Mar;76(3):476-485AcknowledgementsI would like to express my gratitude to the members of Japan College of Rheumatology who cooperated in filling out the questionnaire.Disclosure of InterestsSakiko Isojima: None declared, Nobuyuki Yajima: None declared, Ryo Yanai: None declared, Yoko Miura: None declared, Shingo Fukuma: None declared, Kayoko Kaneko: None declared, Keishi Fujio: None declared, Kenji Oku: None declared, Masakazu Matsushita: None declared, Takako Miyamae: None declared, Takashi Wada: None declared, Yuko Kaneko: None declared, Yoshiya Tanaka Speakers bureau: Y. Tanaka has received speaking fees and/or honoraria from Gilead, Abbvie, Behringer-Ingelheim, Eli Lilly, Mitsubishi-Tanabe, Chugai, Amgen, YL Biologics, Eisai, Astellas, Bristol-Myers, Astra-Zeneca, Grant/research support from: Y. Tanaka has received research grants from Asahi-Kasei, Abbvie, Chugai, Mitsubishi-Tanabe, Eisai, Takeda, Corrona, Daiichi-Sankyo, Kowa, Behringer-Ingelheim, and consultant fee from Eli Lilly, Daiichi-Sankyo, Taisho, Ayumi, Sanofi, GSK, Abbvie., Ayako Nakajima: None declared, ATSUKO MURASHIMA: None declared

The gut microbiota (GM) exerts a strong influence over the host immune system and dysbiosis of this microbial community can affect the clinical phenotype in chronic inflammatory conditions. To explore the role of the GM in lupus nephritis, we colonized NZM2410 mice with Segmented Filamentous Bacteria (SFB). Gut colonization with SFB was associated with worsening glomerulonephritis, glomerular and tubular immune complex deposition and interstitial inflammation compared to NZM2410 mice free of SFB. With SFB colonization mice experienced an increase in small intestinal lamina propria Th17 cells and group 3 innate lymphoid cells (ILC3s). However, although serum IL-17A expression was elevated in these mice, Th17 cells and ILC3s were not detected in the inflammatory infiltrate in the kidney. In contrast, serum and kidney tissue expression of the macrophage chemoattractants MCP-1 and CXCL1 were significantly elevated in SFB colonized mice. Furthermore, kidney infiltrating F4/80+CD206+ M2-like macrophages were significantly increased in these mice. Evidence of increased gut permeability or “leakiness” was detected in SFB colonized mice. Finally, the intestinal microbiome of SFB colonized mice at 15 and 30 weeks of age exhibited dysbiosis when compared to uncolonized mice at the same time points. Both microbial relative abundance as well as biodiversity of colonized mice was found to be altered. Collectively, SFB gut colonization in the NZM2410 mouse exacerbates kidney disease, promotes kidney M2-like macrophage infiltration and overall intestinal microbiota dysbiosis.

Charge changing cross sections (\(\sigma _{\text{CC}}\)) for ^40–48K and ^42–51Ca have been measured using BigRIPS at RIBF, RIKEN. The \(\sigma _{\text{CC}}\) obtained along the long isotopic chain of K and Ca revealed the fact that \(\sigma _{\text{CC}}\) have strong proton separation energy () dependence. The data are compared with the calculation based on the Glauber model and also with the proton evaporation model. It is found that the \(\sigma _{\text{CC}}\) data are well reproduced when the proton evaporation effect is taken into account.

Interaction cross sections for ^{42-51}Ca on a carbon target at 280 MeV/nucleon have been measured for the first time. The neutron number dependence of derived root-mean-square matter radii shows a significant increase beyond the neutron magic number N=28. Furthermore, this enhancement of matter radii is much larger than that of the previously measured charge radii, indicating a novel growth in neutron skin thickness. A simple examination based on the Fermi-type distribution, and mean field calculations point out that this anomalous enhancement of the nuclear size beyond N=28 results from an enlargement of the core by a sudden increase in the surface diffuseness of the neutron density distribution, which implies the swelling of the bare ^{48}Ca core in Ca isotopes beyond N=28.

Myofascial pain syndrome is characterized by pain and a limited range of joint motion caused by muscle contracture related to motor-end-plate dysfunction and the presence of myofascial trigger points (MTrPs). It is the most frequent cause of musculoskeletal pain, with a worldwide prevalence varying between 13.7% and 47%. Of the patients with myofascial pain syndrome, approximately 17% have pain in the medial hindfoot area. The abductor hallucis muscle is located in the medial, posterior region of the foot and is related to painful plantar syndromes. The objective of this study was to describe the distribution of the medial plantar nerve and their anatomical relationship with MTrPs found in the literature. Thirty abductor hallucis muscles were dissected from 15 human cadavers (8 males and 7 females). The muscles were measured, and the distribution data of the medial plantar nerve branches in each quadrant were recorded. For statistical analysis, we used generalized estimation equations with a Poisson distribution and a log logarithm function followed by Bonferroni multiple comparisons of the means. The data are expressed as the mean ± standard deviation. The level of significance was adjusted to 5% (p<0.05). A high concentration of nerve branches was observed in the first quadrant (Q1) of the abductor hallucis muscle, which is the same area in which the MTrPs are described. The topography of the entry points of the branches of the medial plantar nerve to the abductor hallucis muscle correlates with the topography of the muscular trigger points. The anatomical structure of the MTrPs may be useful for a better understanding of the pathophysiology of myofascial disorders and provide a basis for surgical and clinical treatments.

There are more than 30 strawberry breeding stations in Japan, which have developed various cultivars with high-quality fruits under heated conditions. Nonetheless, breeders have begun to feel the limitations of conventional breeding methods, and there is a need for more strategic breeding approaches based on genetic information. To address this problem, we developed a next-generation molecular breeding method to improve fruit firmness in strawberries using a combination of genomic selection (GS) and recurrent selection. This approach was developed in conjunction with four breeding stations operated at the National Agriculture and Food Research Organization Institute of Vegetable and Floriculture Science (NARO-IVFS) and Tochigi, Fukuoka and Chiba prefectures. Multiple parental populations were developed at the four breeding stations, and genotyping and phenotyping were performed for GS modelling. Simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) previously mapped onto linkage maps were used for genotyping. Conventional GS requires genome-wide genotyping for both the training and breeding populations. To decrease the cost and time for genotyping in the breeding population, we used an Ensemble-based genetic and genomic search (EGGS) in order to generate a model with fewer DNA markers. Second-generation populations (G2) exhibiting reduced variation in fruit firmness compared with the original populations have already been developed. The frequencies of targeted genotypes were increased from the initial population (G0) to the second generation (G2). Though many issues remain to be addressed, we expect that our method will open a new avenue for strawberry breeding.

The extraction of pure high molecular weight DNA and collecting genomic DNA from fungi is difficult. This is because filamentous fungi has a sturdy cell wall, high protein and polysaccharide levels resistant to the usual DNA extraction procedures. A low-cost and reliable DNA extraction method was designed from Mycoleptodonoides. aitchisonii fit for whole-genome sequencing for identification and mapping of the A mating-type gene. Mycoleptodonoides. aitchisonii belongs to the Climacodontaceae family has pharmaceutical activities. In the present study, the mycelia of M. aitchisonii, which grew from the different concentrations of malt extract and minimal liquid media, have been compared systematically to determine the DNA extraction procedure resulted in DNA concentration with excellent purity and quality. The best protocol that resulted in good quality DNA was further validated using polymerase chain reaction amplification with a specific primer to amplify the homeodomain protein (Mahd2-18) gene that encodes a transcription factor. The method proposed DNA extraction using CTAB (Cetyl Trimethyl Ammonium Bromide) method and purify by commercial kit from mycelium grown in the minimal liquid media give the best result with the high concentration of DNA for whole-genome sequencing by Next Generation Sequencing and other applications.

Daptomycin (DAP) is widely used in the treatment of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection. The emergence of DAP non-susceptible MRSA strains during therapy is a major concern in clinical settings. Recent studies revealed that MRSA spontaneously reverts to a subsequent methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) strain. However, it is not clear whether DAP non-susceptible MRSA has the ability to revert to a susceptible strain. We obtained an MRSA strain pair, DAP non-susceptible strain and subsequent DAP susceptible strain, from a patient. To understand the underlying mechanism by which DAP non-susceptible MRSA reverts to a susceptible strain, we performed genetic and phenotypic analysis in the strain pair. Although whole-genome analysis revealed four missense mutations, including L826F in mprF, in both strains, the net cell-surface charge was similar between the DAP non-susceptible and susceptible strains. However, the thickness of the cell wall was higher in the DAP non-susceptible strain, which was decreased to the same level as the control after reversion to the DAP susceptible strain. Moreover, the non-susceptible strain showed higher mRNA expression of the two-component system (TCS), such as VraSR, yycG and GraS, with the up-regulated transcription levels of cell-wall biosynthesis-related genes. The expression levels of those genes were decreased after reversion to the susceptible strain. These results indicated that DAP non-susceptibility due to up-regulation of the TCS and cell-wall biosynthesis-related genes may be reversible by the discontinuation of DAP, leading to reversion to the DAP susceptible phenotype.

An analytical method for quantifying ochratoxin A (OTA) in pet foods using high-performance liquid chromatography was developed, and an inter-laboratory study was conducted. OTA was extracted from samples with aqueous acetonitrile. The extract was purified by an immunoaffinity column, OCHRAKING, and analysed by high performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. The limits of quantification by this method were 2 µg/kg for dry and semidry pet food and 1 µg/kg for wet type pet food. The calibration curve showed linearity in the range of 0.5-50 ng/ml (equivalent to 1-100 µg/kg for wet type pet food). The mean recoveries of OTA spiked at 1-5 µg/kg were in the range of 83.0-106% and relative standard deviations of the in-house method validation were 2.6-6.8%. The mean recoveries, repeatability, reproducibility and the Horwitz ratios for OTA from the inter-laboratory validation study were 75.6-83.1%, 3.5-6.1%, 5.0-15.0% and 0.23-0.68, respectively.