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This study aimed to clarify the relationship between the maternal pelvis and calf size in normal and dystocia groups (Experiment 1) and to establish a method to predict dystocia due to physical imbalance between foetus and maternal pelvis before calving based on the parameters found in Experiment 1 (Experiment 2). In Experiment 1, 26 pairs of dams and their offspring were tested immediately after calving, and various parameters of offspring size and maternal pelvis were measured in normal and dystocia cases. The longitudinal diameter of the maternal pelvis was smaller (p .01), and ratios of the offspring's birth weight and the width of the hoof crown (hoof width; measured using callipers) to the longitudinal diameter of the maternal pelvis were larger (p .01) in the dystocia group than those in the normal group. In Experiment 2, 37 cows were tested, and in addition to the measurement items of Experiment 1, the inner pelvic diameter and the foetal hoof width were measured via ultrasonography at 285 days of gestation. The ratio of the internal diameter of the maternal pelvis (longitudinal diameter, transverse diameter and area) to the foetal hoof width was compared and was greater (p .01) in the dystocia group than in the normal group. In conclusion, the risk of dystocia can be estimated by the ratio of the foetal hoof width to the longitudinal diameter of the maternal pelvis before calving.

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

The housing types (HST) in which dairy cows are kept and the feeding systems (FDS) used differ among farmers in Japan. Here, we investigated the genetic relationships among conception rate at first insemination (CR) and milk production traits (PROD) during the first 3 lactations of Holstein cows by using a multiple-trait model that considered the trait values of herds with different HST [tiestall (TSL) barn, freestall (FS) barn, or grazing (GZ)] and FDS as separate traits. Milk production and conception records of Holstein cows in the Hokkaido region of Japan (283,611 records for first lactation, 253,902 for second, and 181,197 for third) were analyzed. We categorized herds with TSL or FS into 2 types of FDS for cows: separate feeding (SF) of roughage plus concentrate or feeding of total mixed ration, in which roughage and concentrates were mixed before feeding. The PROD analyzed were cumulative milk, fat, and protein yields within 305 d and lactation persistency, which we defined as the difference between milk yields at 240 and 60 d in milk. We estimated the heritabilities for CR or PROD within each HST or HST × FDS group and the genetic correlations between these traits within each group or across different groups within each lactation by using a 3-HST (TSL, FS, and GZ) × 2-trait (CR and each PROD) or 2-HST (TSL and FS) × 2-FDS × 2-trait animal model. Heritability estimates for CR in GZ were higher than those in TSL or FS, and genetic correlations for CR between GZ and TSL or FS barns were weaker than those between TSL and FS barns. In addition, genetic correlations between CR and PROD in GZ were weaker than those in TSL and FS barns. In the comparison among the 4 HST × FDS except GZ, heritability estimates for CR in FS × SF were higher than those in the others, and genetic correlations for CR between FS × SF and the other systems were relatively weak. These results indicated that differences in the production system for Holstein cows influence genotypic effects in terms of the cows' ability to conceive and the genetic relationships between fertility traits and milk production traits.

The use of azacitidine (AZA) has been known to lead to a high incidence of hematotoxic adverse events. The aims of this study were to identify the risk factors for thrombocytopenia after the administration of AZA and to analyze time to the initial platelet transfusion. Sixty-two patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), who were treated with AZA in Gifu Municipal Hospital between March 2012 and June 2020, were included in this study. The risk factors for thrombocytopenia were identified using univariate analysis of patient characteristics, disease type, and laboratory values immediately before the start of treatment. Variables with p0.2 identified in the univariate analysis were used as independent variables in the multivariate analysis. This analysis identified "creatinine clearance (CCr)60 mL/min" as a significant factor (odds ratio, 4.790; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.380-16.70; p=0.014). Subsequently, time in days to the initial platelet transfusion after the initial administration of AZA was analyzed using the log-rank test. The overall median time in days to platelet transfusion was 370 days. The log-rank test was used to determine the influence of patient characteristics, disease type, and laboratory values immediately before the start of treatment. The subsequent Cox proportional hazard regression analysis using variables with p0.2 as independent variables identified "hemoglobin (Hb)8.0 g/dL" as a significant factor (hazard ratio, 2.143; 95% CI, 1.001-4.573; p=0.048). The results of this study led to the following clinical implications: first, patients with CCr of60 mL/min at the start of treatment should be treated with caution due to the risk of thrombocytopenia. Second, patients with Hb of8.0 g/dL at the start of treatment may require platelet transfusion in the early stage of treatment.

Cardiovascular surgery is a highly invasive intervention that is often performed in elderly patients at risks of complications because of malnutrition and reduced immunity. This study investigated nutritional factors that affected length of hospital stay in patients undergoing cardiovascular surgery. Among 68 patients who underwent surgery at the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery of Gifu Municipal Hospital between April 2013 and March 2015, 55 with complete data were included in the analysis. Data on serum albumin (ALB), transferrin (Tf), pre-albumin (PA) and retinol binding protein (RBP) levels were collected. The median length of hospital stay was 29 days (stays of ≥30 days were considered long-term hospitalization). Multivariate analysis (multiple logistic regression) included age (≥ 65 years), sex (female), and ALB (≤ 3.0 g/dL), Tf (≤ 150.0 mg/dL), PA (≤ 10.0 mg/dL) and RBP (≤ 1.5 mg/dL) levels. ALB [odds ratio (OR) 10.37, 95% CI (confidence interval): 1.185-90.80

Mangrove forests in tropics coastlines area play an essential role in carbon fixation and carbon storage. Mangrove forests in coastal areas are very effective and efficient in reducing the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere because mangroves can absorb CO2 through photosynthesis by diffusion through stomata and then store carbon in the form of biomass. With the lack of efforts to manage mangrove forests, it needs to be developed so that forest functions can be utilized sustainably. This paper describes examining the use of remote sensing data, particularly dual-polarization ALOS-2 PALSAR-2 data, with the primary objective to estimate the carbon stock of mangrove forests in Benoa Bay, Bali. The carbon stock was estimated by analyzing HV Polarization, Above Ground Biomass (AGB), and ground biomass (BGB). The total carbon stock was obtained by multiplying the total biomass with the organic carbon value of 0.47. The potential carbon stock in the mangrove Benoa Bay area is 209,027.28 ton C to absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) of 767,130.11 ton CO2 Sequestration same with 3.87 X 1011 bottles in 2015 and 204.422,59 ton C to absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) of 750.230,93 ton CO2 Sequestration same with 3.79 x 1011 bottles in 2020.

Lemuru fish (Sardinella lemuru), the most dominant fishery resource, has economic values for the fisherman fishing activities in the Bali Strait (between Jawa and Bali islands), Indonesia. Spatial and temporal prediction for the fishing location is essential information for effective fisheries management. The high spatial resolution of sea surface temperature (SST) and Chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) by the second-generation global imager (SGLI) on the global change observation mission (GCOM-C) satellite was employed for the input of the Maximum Entropy Model (MaxEnt) to predict the potential fishing area of lemuru fish in 2020. This study analyzed SST and Chl-a using the SGLI data and shows the variability of SST and Chl-a for lemuru fish-catching data. The MaxEnt model performance to predict the habitat suitability for lemuru fish in the Bali Strait has been shown in this study. As a result, the maximum average Chl-a estimated in August 2020 was around 1.62 mg m−3 and maximum SST in March 2020 around 28.12°C. The correlation between SST and Chl-a with total lemuru fish-catching were -0.209 and 0.375 for SST and Chl-a, respectively. The prediction of lemuru fishing areas using the MaxEnt model showed excellent model evaluations with a correlation value higher than 0.80.

The present study uses the Community Earth System Model, version 1– Biogeochemistry [CESM1(BGC)] to examine the influence of climate variability and climate change on small pelagic fish biomass in the Indonesian seas. The fish biomass was calculated based on a fish production model according to primary production and energy transfer at the tropic level. The primary production data were obtained from results of CESM1(BGC) model from 1850 to 2015. Empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis of the calculated fish biomass identifies three regions in the Indonesian seas that are associated with coastal upwelling. These regions are located in (1) southern coast of Central Java Province until west-coast of West Sumatra Province, (2) southern coast of Central Java Province until the southern coast of Bali Province, and (3) Banda-Arafura Seas. Fish production variability in these regions exhibits semi-annual, annual, and IOD-ENSO related signals. Climate change impact for RCP 4.5 scenario produces ‘fish stock increase status’ in 2025 for the three regions, while the ‘fish stock current status’ will reoccur in 2050, except for the western part of Sumatra (part of region-1) which alters to ‘fish stock decrease status’.

Remotely sensed data, both Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and optical sensors, significantly contribute to the study and understanding internal solitary wave (ISW) dynamics in the ocean. Pairs of SAR and optical sensors were analyzed to estimate the ISW propagation speed in the northern-part of Lombok Strait. ISW propagation speed estimation used an image from Sentinel-1 SAR and three image pairs of Himawari-8 on 29 October 2018 with a time difference of 409 minutes. Sentinel-1 wide-swath imagery (250 km x 400 km) from two adjacent scenes can provide information on multiple ISW packets evolution in the northern-part of Lombok Strait. ISW propagation speed estimation on Sentinel-1 SAR image using the simple estimation by measuring the interpacket distance and dividing by the semidiurnal tidal period. The high temporal resolution of the optical sensor from Himawari-8 can estimate the ISW propagation speed using two different approaches. ISW propagation speed estimation using the semidiurnal tidal period from Sentinel-1 and Himawari-8 showed almost similar values. Sentinel-1 estimation results are 2.69 m.s−1 (Lombok Strait) and 1.30 m.s−1 (northern-part area), Himawari-8 results are 2.52 m.s−1 (Lombok Strait) and 1.27 m.s−1 (northern-part area). ISW propagation speed variability in the northern-part of the Lombok Strait shown in this study.

This study evaluated the dependence of reliability and prediction bias on the prediction method, the contribution of including animals (bulls or cows), and the genetic relatedness, when including genotyped cows in the progeny-tested bull reference population. We performed genomic evaluation using a Japanese Holstein population, and assessed the accuracy of genomic enhanced breeding value (GEBV) for three production traits and 13 linear conformation traits. A total of 4564 animals for production traits and 4172 animals for conformation traits were genotyped using Illumina BovineSNP50 array. Single- and multi-step methods were compared for predicting GEBV in genotyped bull-only and genotyped bull-cow reference populations. No large differences in realized reliability and regression coefficient were found between the two reference populations; however, a slight difference was found between the two methods for production traits. The accuracy of GEBV determined by single-step method increased slightly when genotyped cows were included in the bull reference population, but decreased slightly by multi-step method. A validation study was used to evaluate the accuracy of GEBV when 800 additional genotyped bulls (POPbull) or cows (POPcow) were included in the base reference population composed of 2000 genotyped bulls. The realized reliabilities of POPbull were higher than those of POPcow for all traits. For the gain of realized reliability over the base reference population, the average ratios of POPbull gain to POPcow gain for production traits and conformation traits were 2.6 and 7.2, respectively, and the ratios depended on heritabilities of the traits. For regression coefficient, no large differences were found between the results for POPbull and POPcow. Another validation study was performed to investigate the effect of genetic relatedness between cows and bulls in the reference and test populations. The effect of genetic relationship among bulls in the reference population was also assessed. The results showed that it is important to account for relatedness among bulls in the reference population. Our studies indicate that the prediction method, the contribution ratio of including animals, and genetic relatedness could affect the prediction accuracy in genomic evaluation of Holstein cattle, when including genotyped cows in the reference population.

Chemotherapy for cancer is increasingly implemented in the outpatient setting. Pharmacists contribute to cancer treatment by conducting counseling during outpatient chemotherapy visits. They provide guidance on drug treatment, side effects, and side effect countermeasures on every visit. However, there have been few economic evaluations of pharmacist involvement in outpatient chemotherapy. Therefore, we performed a cost utility analysis. We assigned usual care (control) and pharmacist counseling to two groups of 19 patients receiving outpatient chemotherapy for breast cancer at Gifu Municipal hospital. Quality of life was measured at three timepoints before and during chemotherapy treatment using the EuroQol 5 dimension instrument (EQ-5D). EQ-5D values across the timepoints were 0.831, 0.757, and 0.791 for the control group, and 0.882, 0.883, and 0.921 for the pharmacist counseling group. The additional cost in the pharmacist counseling group was 2,227 yen per counseling session. The change in quality-adjusted life years (QALY) was a maximum of -0.021±0.186 in the control group and 0.007±0.199 in the pharmacist counseling group. The maximum cost for one QALY was 1,360,558 yen (≈12,460 US dollars). Pharmacists' counseling in outpatient cancer chemotherapy for breast cancer patients had an acceptable incremental cost-effect ratio, contributing to improved patient quality of life without significant additional expenditure to healthcare.

Over-the-counter (OTC) drugs and health foods/supplements are used as means of self-medication with the aim of preventing diseases and maintaining health. No reports have yet addressed the relationship between healthcare systems and self-medication. Here, we carried out a retrospective survey to identify healthcare system factors affecting OTC drug and health food/supplement usage. Patients hospitalized at Gifu Municipal Hospital between October 1, 2014 and March 31, 2015 were given a survey. The items surveyed were age, gender, disease, alcohol intake/smoking status, insurance classification, and medical pharmaceuticals, OTC drugs, and health foods/supplements used immediately before hospitalization. We performed multiple logistic regression analysis using OTC drugs and health foods/supplements as dependent variables with patient attributes, medical insurance, etc. as independent variables. A total of 5,965 patients were analyzed. OTC users comprised 2.6 % (156 people) of the total. The use of OTC drugs was significantly higher for females and alcohol consumers than in other categories. In contrast, the use of OTC drugs was significantly lower for participants in public expense/medical subsidy programs. Health foods/supplements were used by 4.0 % of all subjects (240 people); their use was significantly higher among females and users of medical pharmaceuticals. On the other hand, the use of health foods/supplements was significantly lower for smokers, users of the latter-stage elderly healthcare system, and users of public expense/medical subsidy programs.

To examine the association between treatment-achieved HbAAssociations of treatment-achieved HbAA significant linear trend was associated with HbAThese findings suggest that the relationship between treatment-achieved HbA

A crossed photon-atom beam apparatus has been constructed for absolute measurement of total photoionization cross sections of isolated and neutral metallic atoms. The main purpose is to establish the technique which can be used as widely as possible for the metallic elements. Using this apparatus, measurements on Ba and Eu atoms have been made at selected energies in their 4d giant resonance regions 110–140 eV and 140–180 eV, respectively. A monochromatized synchrotron radiation was used as a light source. The target-atom density in the interaction section was determined with accuracy of 9% using the accumulation rate of metallic atoms on a quartz crystal sensor and the average velocity of the atoms obtained by a time-of-flight method combined with a pulsed electron gun. The number of photons was determined with use of a double-ion chamber preferably. The entire systematic errors have been estimated to be 20% for Ba and 27% for Eu. The comparison of the measured cross-section values with previous experimental and theoretical results is reasonable, indicating that the crossed photon–atom beam method is fairly promising technique.

Whiteleg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannmaei) commodities has a high economic value and a huge market demand. Changes in temperature and precipitation seems to be the most significant factors climatic that effect shrimp aquaculture production. The objectives are to understand of climatic factors influence on the whiteleg shrimp farming sector in Indonesia based on IPSL(Institut Pierre Simon Laplace)-CM5A-MR(Medium Resolution) model and to understand adaptability of whiteleg shrimp to climate change on vulnerable area. The projection of the model includes four Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) scenarios, encompassing RCP 2.6, RCP 4.5, RCP 6.0, and RCP 8.5. These vulnerable map were created by overlaying the exposure maps (precipitation, maximum temperature and minimum temperature) and sensitivity map (production maps) in various time. Banyuwangi District was the most vulnerable area in East Java Province. The questionary has analysed descriptively and found that 92% of the respondents are aware of climate change. The respondents reveal that increased on rainfall (34%) and decreased of temperature (29%) has negative impacts on shrimp production. Decrease in production influenced by disease and climate factors. Either future threats or current threats related to climate change and disease. More deeply there are insignificant positive correlation between temperature and precipitation with production in Banyuwangi.

症例は75歳，男性．主訴は3カ月にわたる頻回の便意．左下腹部に約20cmの細長い弾性硬の腫瘤を触知し，注腸検査でS状結腸から上部直腸にかけて腸管の伸展不良と狭小化，鋸歯像を認めた．下部消化管内視鏡検査で同部位に粘膜不整のない全周性狭窄を，腹部CT検査で同部位の腸管壁の全周性狭窄と腸間膜の脂肪織濃度の著明な上昇を認めた．以上より腸間膜脂肪織炎を疑ったが，早期の症状改善を目的に手術を施行した．開腹所見ではS状結腸から上部直腸の腸管壁は著明に肥厚し，腸間膜も著明に肥厚，短縮しており，低位前方切除術を施行した．病理組織検査では漿膜下層脂肪織の広汎な壊死とfoamy cellsを含む組織球の反応性増殖を認め，腸間膜脂肪織炎と診断した．術後経過は良好で排便異常は改善し，術後第16病日に退院した．退院時再発の兆候はなかったが，数日後に急性心筋梗塞により死亡したためその後の観察は不能となった． 本疾患は良性疾患であり保存的治療が原則であるが，病状が長期にわたり狭窄症状が強い場合，外科的切除も考慮すべきと考える．

In Japan, the degree of marbling in ribeye (M. longissimus thoracis) is evaluated in the beef meat grading process. However, other muscles (e.g., M. trapezius) are also important in determining the meat quality and carcass market prices. The purpose of this study was to estimate genetic parameters for M. longissimus thoracis (M-LONG) and M. trapezius (M-TRAP) of carcass cross section of Japanese Black steers by computer image analysis. The number of records of Japanese Black steers and the number of pedigree records were 2,925 and 10,889, respectively. Digital images of the carcass cross section were taken between the sixth and seventh ribs by photographing equipment. Muscle area (MA), fat area ratio (FAR), overall coarseness of marbling particles (OCM), and coarseness of maximum marbling particle (MMC) in M-LONG and M-TRAP were calculated by image analysis. Genetic parameters for these traits were estimated using the AIREMLF90 program with an animal model. Fixed effects that were included in the model were dates of arrival at the carcass market and slaughter age (mo), and random effects of fattening farms, additive genetic effects and residuals were included in the model. For M-LONG, heritability estimates (+/-SE) were 0.46 +/- 0.06, 0.59 +/- 0.06, 0.47 +/- 0.06, and 0.20 +/- 0.05 for MA, FAR, OCM, and MMC, respectively. Heritability estimates (+/-SE) in M-TRAP were 0.47 +/- 0.06, 0.57 +/- 0.07, 0.49 +/- 0.07, and 0.13 +/- 0.04 for the same traits. Genetic correlations between subcutaneous fat thickness and FAR for M-LONG and M-TRAP were negative (-0.21 and -0.19, respectively). Those correlations between M-LONG and M-TRAP were moderate to high for MA, FAR, OCM, and MMC (0.38, 0.52, 0.39, and 0.60, respectively). These results indicate that other muscles including M-LONG should be evaluated for more efficient genetic improvement.

BACKGROUND Factors predictive of survival have been identified in Western patients with metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma (mCCRCC) treated with sunitinib. Less is known, however, about factors predictive of survival in Japanese patients. This study evaluated factors prognostic of survival in Japanese patients with mCCRCC treated with first-line sunitinib. MATERIALS AND METHODS This retrospective study evaluated 46 consecutive Japanese mCCRCC patients treated with sunitinib as first line therapy. Clinical and biochemical markers associated with progression-free survival (PFS) were analyzed, with prognostic factors selected by uni- and multivariate Cox regression analyses. RESULTS Univariate analysis showed that factors significantly associated with poor PFS included Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center poor risk scores, International Metastatic RCC Database Consortium poor risk and high (>0.5 mg/dl) serum C-reactive protein (CRP) concentrations (p

Two hundred and seventy eight absence seizures were recorded from 60 patients by an intensive monitoring device. They were divided into two subtypes, typical and atypical absences based on their ictal discharges whether the spike-wave rhythm was at 3 cps or not. These two absence seizures did not differ so much with regard to loss of consciousness except that: 1) the durations of discharge in atypical absences were longer than those of typical ones, 2) the recovery from clouded consciousness to a state of full-awareness was apparently delayed in atypical absences after the termination of epileptic discharges, 3) the oral automatisms were more associated with typical absences and the decreased postural tones with atypical absences. By a numerical analysis of two parameters of spike-wave, that is, its frequency ad rhythmicity, it was shown that absences with spike-waves slower than 30 cps and with poor rhythmicity which roughly corresponded with atypical absences were more therapy-resistant in comparison with those having 3 cps spike waves and good rhythm which were usually typical absences. Sodium valproate was more effective on typical absences, however, there was no difference between typical and atypical absences in the therapeutic maintenance concentrations of serum valproate acid. We would like to emphasize that the comparison of the symptomatology between typical and atypical absences is of significance not only for understanding the etiology of the epilepsies but for the guideline of practical pharmacotherapy.

Aim: Denervation leads to capillary regression in skeletal muscle. To gain insight into the regulation of this process, we investigated the time course of changes in capillary supply and gene expression of angiogenesis-related factors during muscle denervation. Method: Female mice underwent surgery to transect the sciatic nerve, and then the gastrocnemius muscles were isolated at 12 h, 1, 3, 5, 10, 20, or 30 days after surgery. The capillary supply was assessed by immunohistochemistry using anti-PECAM-1/CD31 antibody. The mRNA levels for angiogenesis-related factors were analysed using a real-time polymerase chain reaction. Results: We found that the capillary-to-fibre ratio began to decrease 10 days after muscle denervation and decreased by 52% after 30 days. The levels of mRNA for vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), its receptors [fms-like tyrosine kinase (Flt-1) and a kinase insert domain-containing receptor/fetal liver kinase-1 (KDR/Flk-1)], angiopoietin-1 and angiopoietin-2 of denervated muscle were immediately down-regulated after 12 h and remained lower than control muscle until 30 days after muscle denervation. The levels of mRNA for the VEGF receptor, neuropilin-1, angiopoietin receptor and Tie-2 decreased within 12–24 h, but returned to near those of control muscle after 10–20 days, and again decreased after 30 days. Conclusions: These findings suggest that denervation-induced capillary regression may be associated with down-regulation of VEGF and angiopoietin signalling.

30日齢のホルスタイン種子牛1頭(雄)が、急性に落ち着きなく寝起きを繰り返し、起立時には腹部を蹴り上げるなどの疝痛症状を示した。排便量は少なく、腹部は進行性に膨満し振盪にて拍水音が聴取された。血液一般検査では、白血球数の著しい増加が顕著であった。腹部X線検査では、ガスが膨満しループ状になった小腸が腹腔内全域に観察された。右〓部切開による試験的開腹では、ガスで膨満した小腸が腹腔内に充満していた。触診にて腸問膜根の約180°反時計方向への捻転を確認し、これを用手的に整復した。術後、症例は速やかに回復した。

Mid-infrared absorption spectra for all types of carbonaceous chondrites were obtained in this study to establish a versatile method for spectroscopic classification of carbonaceous chondrites. Infrared spectra were measured using a conventional KBr pellet method and diamond press method. Spectra of hydrous carbonaceous chondrites exhibit intense O-H stretching vibrations. CI chondrites are identifiable by a characteristic sharp absorption band appearing at 3685 cm^(-1), which is mainly attributable to serpentine. X-ray diffraction analysis showed the presence of serpentine. However, Yamato (Y-) 82162 (C1) does not have the band at 3685 cm^(-1) because of its thermal metamorphism. CM and CR chondrites have an intense absorption band at approximately 3600 cm^(-1). This absorption tends to appear in CM chondrites more strongly than CR chondrites because the intensity ratios of an OH stretching mode at 3520 cm^(-1) compared to 3400 cm^(-1) for CM chondrites are in the range of 0.95-1.04, which is systematically higher than those of CR chondrites (0.86-0.88). Therefore, the two types of chondrites are distinguishable by their respective infrared spectra. The spectrum feature of the Tagish Lake meteorite is attributable to neither CI nor CM chondrites. CO chondrites are characterized by weak and broad absorption at 3400 cm^(-1). CV chondrites have weak or negligible absorption of water. CK chondrites also have no water-induced absorption. CH and CB chondrites have a sharp absorption at 3692 cm^(-1) indicating the presence of chrysotile, which is also supported by observations of X-ray diffraction and TEM. The combination of spectroscopic classification and the diamond press method allows classification of carbonaceous chondrites of very valuable samples with small quantities. As one example, carbonaceous chondrite clasts in brecciated meteorites were classified using our technique. Infrared spectra for a fragment of carbonaceous clasts (

From November 1998 to January 1999, the 39th Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition (JARE) conducted a large-scale micrometeorite collection at 3 areas in the meteorite ice field around the Yamato Mountains, Antarctica. The Antarctic micrometeorites (AMMs) collected were ancient cosmic dust particles. This is in contrast with the Dome Fuji AMMs, which were collected previously from fresh snows in 1996 and 1997 and which represent modern micrometeorites. To determine the noble gas concentrations and isotopic compositions of individual AMMs, noble gas analyses were carried out using laser-gas extraction for 35 unmelted Yamato Mountains AMMs and 3 cosmic spherules. X-ray diffraction analyses were performed on 13 AMMs before the noble gas measurement and mineral compositions were determined. AMMs are classified into 4 main mineralogical groups, defined from the heating they suffered during atmospheric entry. Heating temperatures of AMMs, inferred from their mineral compositions, are correlated with 4He concentrations and reflect the effect of degassing during atmospheric entry. Jarosite, an aqueous alteration product, is detected for 4 AMMs, indicating the aqueous alteration during long-time storage in Antarctic ice. Jarosite-bearing AMMs have relatively low concentrations of 4He, which is suggestive of loss during the alteration. High 3He/4He ratios are detected for AMMs with high 20Ne/4He ratios, showing both cosmogenic 3He and preferential He loss. SEP (solar energetic particles)-He and Ne, rather than the solar wind (SW), were dominant in AMMs, presumably showing a preferential removal of the more shallowly implanted SW by atmospheric entry heating. The mean 20Ne/22Ne ratio is 11.27 0.35, which is close to the SEP value of 11.2. Cosmogenic 21Ne is not detected in any of the particles, which is probably due to the short cosmic ray exposure ages. Ar isotopic compositions are explained by 3-component mixing of air, Q, and SEP-Ar. Ar isotopic compositions can not be explained without significant contributions of Q-Ar. SEP-Ne contributed more than 99% of the total Ne. As for 36Ar and 38Ar, the abundance of the Q component is comparable to that of the SEP component. 84Kr and 132Xe are dominated by the primordial component, and solar-derived Xe is almost negligible.

Subvalence 3 s -shell photoionization resonances of Ca were measured with monochromatized synchrotron radiation and photoion time-of-flight spectroscopy method. Charge resolved photoion yield spect...

— The noble gases He, Ne, Ar, Kr, and Xe were measured in 27 individual Antarctic micrometeorites (AMMs) in the size range 60 to 250 μm that were collected at the Dome Fuji Station. Eleven of the AMMs were collected in 1996 (F96 series) and 16 were collected in 1997 (F97 series). One of the F97 AMMs is a totally melted spherule, whereas all other particles are irregular in shape. Noble gases were extracted using a Nd-YAG continuous wave laser with an output power of 2.5-3.5 W for ˜5 min. Most particles released measurable amounts of noble gases. 3He/4He ratios are determined for 26 AMMs ((0.85-9.65) × 10−4). Solar energetic particles (SEP) are the dominant source of helium in most AMMs rather than solar wind (SW) and cosmogenic He. Three samples had higher 3He/4He ratios compared to that of SW, showing the presence of spallogenic 3He. The Ne isotopic composition of most AMMs resembled that of SEP as in the case of helium. Spallogenic 21Ne was detected in three samples, two of which had extremely long cosmic-ray exposure ages (> 100 Ma), calculated by assuming solar cosmic-ray (SCR) + galactic cosmic-ray (GCR) production. These two particles may have come to Earth directly from the Kuiper Belt. Most AMMs had negligible amounts of cosmogenic 21 Ne and exposure ages of

Synergetic effects were observed in the oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane to ethylene, when Mo-V-O or Ni-V-O catalysts are mechanically mixed with alpha-Sb2O4. Synergy was observed on the conversion, the yield and the selectivity in ethylene. XRD and XPS analyses showed that a chemical reaction between these oxides occurred during the reaction. The role of this contamination was evaluated taking into account results presented in the literature (namely, formation of Mo-Sb-O and Ni2Sb2O6) and experimentally, by preparing V-Sb-O and mixing it with Ni-V-O. It is concluded that the formation of a Mo-Sb-O phase is excluded and that contamination induced by V-Sb-O alone cannot explain the synergetic effect observed. The more plausible explanation of the synergy should be the existence of a cooperation between Mo-V-O or Ni-V-O with alpha-Sb2O4. It is proposed that the role of added alpha-Sb2O4 (and Ni2Sb2O6, if formed) would be to reoxidize the surface of Mo-V-O and Ni-V-O during the reaction, thanks to a spillover of oxygen. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

CD44 is a transmembrane glycoprotein involved in various cell adhesion events, including lymphocyte migration, early hemopoiesis, and tumor metastasis. To examine the requirements of CD44 for signal delivery through the extracellular domain, we constructed a chimeric CD44 protein fused to the intracellular domain of Fas on its C-terminus. In cells expressing the CD44-Fas fusion protein, apoptosis could be induced by treatment with certain anti-CD44 mAbs alone, especially those recognizing the epitope group d, which has been previously shown to play a role in ligand binding, indicating that ligation of a specific region of the CD44 extracellular domain results in signal delivery. Of note was that appropriate ligation of the epitope h also resulted in the generation of apoptotic signal, although this region was not thought to be involved in ligand binding. In contrast, the so-called blocking anti-CD44 mAbs (epitope group f) that can abrogate the binding of hyaluronate (HA) failed to induce apoptosis even after further cross-linking with the secondary Ab, indicating that a mere mAb-induced oligomerization of the chimeric proteins is insufficient for signal generation. However, these blocking mAbs were instead capable of inhibiting apoptosis induced by nonblocking mAb (epitope group h). Furthermore, a chimeric protein bearing a mutation in the HA binding domain and hence lacking the ability to recognize HA was incapable of mediating the mAb-induced apoptosis, suggesting that the functional integrity of the HA binding domain is crucial to the signal generation in CD44.

An iron chelate, ferric nitrilotriacetate (Fe-NTA), induces renal proximal tubular damage, a consequence of iron-catalysed Fenton-like reactions, that finally leads to a high incidence of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in rodents. Glutathione S-transferase (GST) is a family of enzymes that play an important role in detoxification of hydrophobic and electrophilic molecules, and has been associated with putative preneoplastic foci of rat hepatocarcinogenesis and chemotherapy-resistance of human cancers. Our previous study revealed an induction of pi-class glutathione S-transferase (Yp) mRNA in the kidney 3 h after administration of Fe-NTA. In the present study, expression of GST isozymes were further investigated in the Fe-NTA-induced RCCs of rats which are characterized by (1) high incidence of metastasis and invasion, (2) high incidence of tumour-associated mortality, and (3) possible involvement of reactive oxygen species in carcinogenesis. In the Fe-NTA-induced RCCs, the levels of alpha-class GST (Ya) mRNA and proteins were markedly decreased with no apparent change in the copy number of the gene. In contrast, GST-Yp mRNA and proteins were significantly increased in the RCCs while the total GST enzymatic activity was decreased. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed intense staining of GST-Yp not only in the primary RCCs and its metastatic sites, but also in their non-tumorous part of proximal tubules. The contrastive expression of GST isozymes in this renal carcinogenesis model suggests an alteration of its transcription mechanisms and warrants further investigation of this particular detoxifying enzyme from the viewpoint of reactive oxygen species-induced carcinogenesis.

A human macrophage calcium-dependent (C-type) lectin cDNA clone was obtained from a library derived from IL-2-treated peripheral blood monocytes. The cDNA cloning was based on the structural homology to hepatic asialoglycoprotein receptors. The nucleotide sequence of this cDNA clone was homologous to those of the galactose- and N-acetylgalactosamine-specific C-type macrophage lectins of rodents. In the putative carbohydrate recognition domain, deduced amino acid sequence revealed 60 and 63% homology to galactose- and N-acetylgalactosamine-specific C-type macrophage lectins of mice and rats, respectively. The cDNA clone was ligated into a mammalian expression vector and transfected into COS-1 cells. In the lysates of these cells, an MR 38,000 component, which bound to galactose-Sepharose, was identified after electrophoretic separation by its interaction with polyclonal antisera against synthetic polypeptides representing a portion of the carbohydrate recognition domain. The carbohydrate-binding specificity of the recombinant macrophage lectin was investigated by comparing elution profiles of various glycopeptides having defined carbohydrate structures from immobilized macrophage lectins. When N-terminal octapeptides from human glycophorin A that bore NeuAc alpha 2-3 Gal beta 1-3 (NeuAc alpha 2-6) GalNAc and its sequentially deglycosylated derivatives were compared, glycopeptides carrying three constitutive GalNAc-Ser/Thr (Tn Ag) strongly bound to the recombinant human macrophage lectin. This is the first study to demonstrate that human macrophage cell surface lectin recognizes Tn Ag, a well-known human carcinoma-associated epitope.

To determine the Ne isotopic compositions for small samples with extremely small contents of Ne, mass interferences due to double charge 40Ar and carbon dioxide have to be corrected. Since mass interference due to 40Ar++ significantly affects 20Ne/22Ne ratios, the accurate estimation for the contribution of 40Ar++ is required in Ne analysis. Accurate 40Ar++/40Ar+ ratio (α) is determined from two experiments. First, the peak heights of mass 20 and 40 are measured alternately in a static condition. Second, the same experiment is performed while a trap made of sintered stainless steel is cooled at liquid nitrogen temperature. Since peak heights are proportional to time, four increase rates of peak heights are obtained and α can be calculated from the rates.

The exploitation and management of water resource be more beneficial, if preceded by study which includes biological aspect besides physics and chemical parameter of waters. The biological aspects study can be conducted by monitoring the change of ecosystem (biomonitoring). One of study that entangles biomonitoring is the research concerning change of marine plants. Marine plants consists of seagrasses and seaweeds. Using ALOS/AVNIR-2 data in this research because it has 3 visible bands (blue, green, and red) with 10 meter spacial resolutions can penetrate into water column. Aims of research were (1) to know combinations of bands in ALOS/AVNIR-2 data was better in Lyzenga method applying to mapping marine plants, (2) to know the general species of marine plants in north coastal area of Sumbawa regency. Lyzenga method was used in image processing process to know the combination of bands which have better for mapping marine plants. Preliminary steps of image processing were image cropping, geometric correction and radiometric correction. Water column effect was reduced by Lyzenga algorithm. Six classes were determined by multispectral classification process i.e. seagrass, seaweeds, coral, hard sand and rubble of coral, and substratum. Field surveys has done to identify the accuracy level. The accuracy method by Lillesand and Kiefer (1990) was used in this research.The result of accuracy test show for image band 1 and band 2 combination given better visual object benthic than another combinations of bands, with overall accuracy was 86.67%. Seagrass found in north coastal area of Sumbawa regency consist of four species there were Cymodocea rotundata, Enhalus acoroides, Syringodium isoetifolium, and Halophila ovalis with width equal to 835.37 ha, while seaweeds were found equal to five species there were Euchema cottoni, Euchema cottoni ssp sakul, Halimeda sp, Padina sp, and Sargasum duplicatum with width equal to 269,16 ha.

We have developed the delta-apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), a new parameter of the water dynamics of brain tissue using MRI. Delta-ADC is the changes in regional ADC values of the brain during the cardiac cycle. The study included 6 idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) patients (iNPH group) and 12 healthy volunteers (control group). ECG-triggered single-shot diffusion echo planar imaging (b = 0 and 1,000 s/mm(2)) was used on a 1.5-T MRI. The delta-ADC image was calculated from the maximum minus the minimum ADC value of all cardiac phase images (20 phases) on a pixel-by-pixel basis. Delta-ADC values in the white matter of the frontal, temporal, and occipital lobe were obtained. Delta-ADC values in the iNPH group were significantly higher than those in the control group in all regions. ADC values in the iNPH were also significantly higher than those in the control group, but the differences in the ADC between the groups in each region were much lower than those for the delta-ADC. Although the changes in the delta-ADC and ADC values were similar, there was no significant correlation between the delta-ADC and the ADC. These results suggest that the ADC and the delta-ADC may reflect different kinds of water dynamics. The ADC depends on the water content in brain tissue. On the other hand, delta-ADC depends on not only the water content, but also on the degree of the fluctuation of the water molecules. Delta-ADC analysis makes it possible to obtain non-invasively new and more detailed information on the regional brain condition in iNPH.