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Objectives In patients with RA, baricitinib not only improves arthritis symptom severity, but also patients’ neuropsychological symptoms, such as depression and fatigue. However, the cellular mechanisms through which baricitinib can affect neural activity is unexplored. While the blood–brain barrier (BBB) permeability of this drug remains unclear, Janus kinase inhibitors (JAKi) might reach the area postrema, which is a unique brain region with a weak BBB function. Our recent study demonstrated microglial activation during experimental arthritis in the area postrema. Therefore, we sought to assess the effect of baricitinib on microglia in the area postrema using the CIA mouse model. Methods Microglia number and morphology in the area postrema were assessed by immunostaining for ionized calcium-binding adaptor molecule-1 (Iba-1). Data were collected on post-immunization day 35 (early phase) and 84 (late phase), and compared between baricitinib- and vehicle-treated mice. The effect on signal transducers and activators of transcription (STAT3) in the area postrema was also immunohistochemically examined. Behavioural outcomes were assessed by examining feeding behaviours and sucrose preference tests. Results In the early phase, activated microglial levels in the area postrema were decreased by baricitinib, accompanied by the inhibition of phosphorylated-STAT3 and recovery of food intake and sucrose preference. On the other hand, baricitinib did not affect microglial morphology in the late phase. Conclusion Our results demonstrate that baricitinib can affect brain cells, specifically microglia, in the brain region with a weak BBB and mitigate aberrant behaviours during autoimmune arthritis, pointing to the potential therapeutic effect of JAKi on brain pathologies underpinning RA.

The discoloration of building facades due to airborne algae is observed in our surroundings. The growth conditions of these algae are not yet fully understood, and efficient measures for preventing the growth of the algae are not presently available. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of the ambient environment and building structure on algal growth. A residential building in a cold region of Japan was surveyed. The roof was a multi-layered structure comprising a semi-transparent film, an air layer, and a layer of insulation from the outside, supported by rafters. The soiled state was visually observed by taking photographs. On the northeast (NE) and northwest (NW) roofs, several black stripes appeared 4 months after cleaning. The soiling increased in the spring and autumn. The soiling first appeared on the film backed by the rafter and then extended to the film backed by the air layer. The condensation time during the day in the rafter part was longer than that in the air-layer part. Condensation occurred during the night, but its frequency exhibited no dependence on the orientation of the roof. Algae tend to die when exposed to an environment with a temperature higher than 45°C. The NE roof had the shortest period with a surface temperature of >45°C. These measurements agreed well with the survey results, which indicated that the soiling mainly occurred on the NE and NW sides of the roofs. The time for algal growth was estimated under the assumption that algae can grow at surface temperatures ranging from 0 to 45°C, in agreement with the observed soiling. The observed soiling changes were well explained by the algal population calculated via a growth predictive model according to the algal temperature and relative humidity.

William Adams (Miura Anjin) was an English navigator who sailed with a Dutch trading fleet to the far East and landed in Japan in 1600. He became a vassal under the Shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu, was bestowed with a title, lands and swords, and became the first SAMURAI from England. "Miura" comes from the name of the territory given to him and "Anjin" means "pilot". He lived out the rest of his life in Japan and died in Hirado, Nagasaki Prefecture, in 1620, where he was reportedly laid to rest. Shortly after his death, graveyards designated for foreigners were destroyed during a period of Christian repression, but Miura Anjin’s bones were supposedly taken, protected, and reburied. Archaeological investigations in 1931 uncovered human skeletal remains and it was proposed that they were those of Miura Anjin. However, this could not be confirmed from the evidence at the time and the remains were reburied. In 2017, excavations found skeletal remains matching the description of those reinterred in 1931. We analyzed these remains from various aspects, including genetic background, dietary habits, and burial style, utilizing modern scientific techniques to investigate whether they do indeed belong to the first English SAMURAI.

Central sensitivity syndrome (CSS) comprises various symptoms caused by central sensitisation (CS). Using the central sensitisation inventory (CSI), a screening questionnaire developed for detecting CSS, this syndrome was recently identified in patients with long-standing rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, the descriptors of CS-related pain and the effects of CSS on symptoms in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) remain unknown. We examined the characteristics of pain and influence of CSS on patient and evaluator global assessment among multiple clinical variables.We used the central sensitisation inventory (CSI) and short-form McGill pain questionnaire to evaluate CSS and characteristics of pain in 240 outpatients with RA. Disease activity, fibromyalgia, neuropathic pain, anxiety, depression, pain catastrophising, and health-related quality of life were evaluated. We used multivariate analysis to analyse the characteristics of CS-related pain according to CSI and the effect of CSS on patient global assessment (PGA), evaluator global assessment (EGA), and PGA minus EGA among relevant clinical variables.In patients with RA, the main descriptors of pain according to severity of CSI scores were "sharp" and "stabbing", whereas those of pain according to disease activity were "tender" and "throbbing". CSS was associated with EGA (p=0.000, β=- 0.199) and PGA minus EGA (p=0.021, β=0.147), but not with PGA.In patients with RA, descriptors for CS-related pain differ from those for disease activity-related pain. CSS may have an important impact on EGA and PGA minus EGA. Additionally, CSI may be helpful in identifying why there is discordance between PGA and EGA.

This study aimed to evaluate the 3-year long-term outcomes of primary Baerveldt glaucoma implant (BGI) surgery for neovascular glaucoma (NVG). We retrospectively evaluated 27 consecutive patients with NVG between November 2013 and November 2017. All the patients were treated with panretinal photocoagulation and pars plana vitrectomy before BGI surgery without anti-vascular endothelial growth factor treatment. The surgical success of the BGI was defined as an IOP of

Background. Neuropsychological symptoms are common complications among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), while it is largely unexplored how RA pathology spread to brain protected by blood-brain barrier (BBB). The sensory circumventricular organs (sCVOs) (brain regions lacking a blood–brain barrier) is the brain site that peripheral inflammatory signals, such as blood cytokines and chemokines, can directly access and modulate cell activities in the brain parenchyma. To determine whether microglia, resident immune cells in neuronal tissue, in the sCVOs can function as an interface between peripheral inflammation and brain under the autoimmune-arthritis conditions, we analyzed microglia in the sCVOs of a mouse model of collagen-induced arthritis (CIA).Methods. Microglial number and morphology were analyzed in the sCVOs of CIA and control mice (controls were administrated Freund’s adjuvant [FA] and/or saline). Immunostaining for ionized calcium-binding adaptor molecule-1 was performed at various disease phases: “pre-onset” (post-immunization day [PID] 21), ”establishment” (PID 35), and “chronic” (PID 56 and 84). Quantitative analyses on microglial number and morphology were performed, with principal component analysis used to classify microglia. Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) mRNA expression in microglia was also analyzed by multiple fluorescent in situ hybridization.Results. In the area postrema (AP), one of the sCVOs located in the medulla, microglia significantly increased in density (CIA, n = 15; FA, n = 6; saline: n = 10) with changes in morphology during the establishment and chronic phases. In other sCVOs (subfornical organs [SFO] and organum vasculosum laminae terminalis [OVLT]), microglial changes were not significant. In the AP microglia, non-subjective clustering classification of cell morphology (CIA, 1,256 cells; saline, 852 cells) showed that the proportion of microglia in a highly activated form was increased in the CIA group. Also, the density of IL-1β-positive microglia, a hallmark of functional activation, increased in the AP. These microglial changes in the AP persisted until the chronic phase.Conclusions. Our findings indicate that an increase and activation of microglia is sustained in the AP during chronic arthritis. This suggests that there is a direct physiological pathway linking peripheral arthritis to the brain through the AP.

Several studies have indicated that arthralgia may be driven by central sensitisation. Central sensitivity syndrome (CSS) is a concept that unifies various symptoms due to central sensitisation. Recently, the central sensitisation inventory (CSI) was developed as a screening questionnaire to detect CSS. Using the CSI, we examined the prevalence, the clinical characteristics of CSS, and the association between CSS and neuropathic pain (NP)-like symptoms among rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients.The CSI was administered to 240 RA outpatients. We evaluated their disease activity and several potentially relevant patient-reported outcomes. We compared the clinical parameters depending on the severity of CSS and examined the effect of the CSI score on NP-like symptoms among the relevant clinical parameters using multivariate analyses.The mean disease duration was 9.58 ± 7.76 years. Eighteen (7.5 %) patients had CSS, which was associated with evaluator global assessment (EGA) (odds ratio (OR) 0.860); fibromyalgia symptom scale (OR 1.46); painDETECT questionnaire score (OR 1.24); hospital anxiety and depression scale-anxiety (OR 1.35); and physical (OR 0.898), mental (OR 0.828), and role-social (OR 0.946) component summary scores on the Short-Form 36-Item Health Survey. CSI score was the factor that contributed most to NP-like symptoms (p=0.000, β=0.266).NP-like symptoms might be one of the symptoms of CSS in longstanding RA patients. In longstanding RA patients who have disproportionately greater NP-like symptoms and/or widespread pain compared with degree of inflammation, detecting CSS using CSI might help to understand the pathogenesis of patients.

The Japanese Archipelago is widely covered with acidic soil made of volcanic ash, an environment which is detrimental to the preservation of ancient biomolecules. More than 10,000 Palaeolithic and Neolithic sites have been discovered nationwide, but few skeletal remains exist and preservation of DNA is poor. Despite these challenging circumstances, we succeeded in obtaining a complete mitogenome sequence from Palaeolithic human remains. We also obtained those of Neolithic (hunting-gathering Jomon and the farming Yayoi cultures) remains, and over 2,000 present-day Japanese. The Palaeolithic mitogenome is potentially an ancestral type of haplogroup M, suggesting it is not only connected to present-day Japanese but also present-day East Asians. There were no changes in the gene pool from the hunting-gathering (Jomon) to the farming cultures (Yayoi), and this is different from in Europe, where there was no genetic continuity between hunter-gatherers and farmers. We also found that a vast increase of population size happened and has continued since the Yayoi period, characterized with paddy rice farming. It means that the cultural transition, i.e. rice agriculture, had significant impact on the demographic history of Japanese population.

Discoloration of building facades due to airborne algae is observed in our surroundings. The growth conditions of these algae are not fully clear yet, and efficient preventive measures have not yet been determined. This study was aimed at investigating the influence of ambient environment and building structure on algal growth. A residential building in the cold region of Japan was surveyed. The roof was a multilayered structure consisting of a semi-transparent film, an air layer, an outside insulation layer, and was supported by rafters. The soiled state was visually observed and recorded through pictures, and seemed to be particularly increased in autumn. Several black stripes appeared on the northeast (NE) roof four months after its cleaning. The soiling first appeared on the film backed by the rafter, and then extended to the film backed by the air layer. It rarely appeared on the southeast roof. The roof-surface temperature was measured and a stripe-shaped distribution was observed. The temperature of the film with rafter was higher and lesser than that of the film with the air layer during the night and in the early morning, respectively. Although condensation occurred nightly, its frequency showed no orientational difference. Algae can die when exposed to a temperature higher than 40 °C. The southwest roof had the longest period of a surface temperature over 40 °C, while the northwest (NW) roof had the shortest period of this surface temperature. These measurements corresponded well to the survey results according to which soiling mainly occurred on the NE and NW sides of roofs. The time for algal growth was estimated assuming that algae can grow at surface temperatures between 0 and 40 °C.

The goal of this study is to propose a new model for predicting thermal sensation in the non-steady state based on skin temperature and its time differential. A multiple regression equation for the prediction of the transient thermal sensation as a function of mean skin temperature and its time differential is determined based on the data obtained in subject experiments involving various non-steady state patterns during sedentary conditions. The results indicate a high correlation and a trend in good agreement between the predicted and experimental thermal sensations in a non-steady state, and showed that the proposed equation can predict transient whole-body thermal sensation with high precision. In addition, experiments incorporating processes with changes in metabolic rate (walking) were conducted on the subjects, and the applicability of the proposed equation, which was based on the data for sedentary conditions, to the conditions involving such a change in metabolic rate was studied. When the skin temperatures of all the body segments increase or decrease simultaneously, the predicted thermal sensation agrees well with the experimental results, allowing for the use of the proposed equation, while the application of the equation is more difficult for the cases in which skin temperature increases and decreases coexist over the segments of the body.

Preparation of nanoporous titania particles from well-defined titania–octadecylamine (titania–ODA) hybrid spherical particles with 450 nm in size, which were prepared by the method reported previously (Chem. Commun., 2009, pp. 6851–6853 [39] ; RSC Adv., 2012, vol. 2, pp. 1343–1349 [40] ), was studied. ODA was removed by solvent extraction with acidic ethanol to obtain nanoporous titania particles and subsequent calcination led to the formation of nanoporous titania particles with the nanopore size ranging from 2 to 4 nm depending on the calcination temperature. The as-synthesized titania was amorphous and was transformed into anatase (at around 300 °C) and rutile (at around 600 °C) by the heat treatment. The phase transition behavior was discussed in comparison with that of as-synthesized titania–ODA particles without ODA removal. Spherical particles of titania–ODA hybrids with 70 nm in size were also transformed into nanoporous titania particles composed of anatase crystallites by the washing and calcination at 500 °C for 1 h.

Occupants of low-humidity environments often complain of a sensation of dryness. According to the results of a questionnaire administered to 1000 Japanese office workers, 70% of that population experiences dryness during dry seasons. It is therefore important to clarify the environmental conditions that cause discomfort due to dryness and control the indoor environmental conditions to avoid such discomfort. For the purpose, this study aims at creating a numerical model to predict the sensation of dryness under certain environmental conditions. Since one of the causes of dryness would be the high evaporation rates from the body part where dryness is perceived, the modeling of moisture evaporation from the surface of skin, eyes, and airway was studied in this article, using the thermal model of human body. At the same time, the evaporation rates from the skin surface, eyes, and airway of a human were calculated for various air temperatures and humidity levels. It was shown quantitatively from the calculated results that the air temperature as well as the vapor pressure influences the evaporation rate because the air temperature thermally influences the temperature of the surface where evaporation occurs (skin, eyes, and throat).

In this research, a full-scale fire experiment was conducted for the purpose of estimating the influence of differences in air supply systems on smoke shielding performance in air pressure smoke control. As a result, the following items were indicated by the experiment: 1. As smoke invades from the doorway surface even prior to the smoke shield limit time in cases where smoke shield opening door is intermediately open as generally considered in the field of air pressure smoke control, smoke shields require thrust from two orthogonal surfaces with each other. 2. In static pressure systems, smoke shielding performance is fixed in spite of the smoke shield opening door angle, and previous theoretical formulae often coincide with actual values. 3. In dynamic pressure systems, smoke shielding performance differs depending on the air supply system and the angles of the door of the smoke shield opening. There are systems where smoke shielding performance is better than in static pressure systems, and there are also systems where it is worse.

So-called "Ohaguro", teeth blackening, in the married females was a general custom regardless of class in the early modern period. As a result, Ohaguro was thought to have enhanced the acid resistance of tooth substance and tightened gingiva and prevented tooth morbidity due to periodontal disease. For investigation into the influence of Ohaguro, the skeletal remains of early modern samurai and commoners at Kokura were examined for differences in the dental pathology based on sex. Though females from archeological sites have significantly more carious teeth and antemortem tooth loss (AMTL) than males in the previous studies, the prevalence of caries and AMTL in males was higher than in females among the early modern samurai and commoners in Kokura. The efficacies of Ohaguro may influence the good dental health of females. On the other hand, as females were considered inferior to males under the feudal system in Japan, males, including children, might tend to consume more nutritious foods compared to females. However, those foods are certainly not better with regard to dental health, since those foods are more highly cariogenic. These factors may have caused higher caries and AMTL prevalence among males compared to females in early modern Kokura.

Rapid, simple, and low-cost screening procedures are necessary for the detection of harmful compounds in the effluent that flows out of point sources such as industrial outfall. The present study investigated the effects on a novel sensor of harmful compounds such as KCN, phenol, and herbicides such as 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea (DCMU), 2-chloro-4-ethylamino-6-isopropylamino-1,3,5-triazine (atrazine), and 2-N-tert-butyl-4-N-ethyl-6-methylsulfanyl-1,3,5-triazine-2,4-diamine (terbutryn). The sensor employed an electrode system that incorporated the photocurrent of intra-cytoplasmic membranes (so-called chromatophores) prepared from photosynthetic bacteria and linked using carbon paste electrodes. The amperometric curve (photocurrent-time curve) of photo-induced electron transfer from chromatophores of the purple photosynthetic bacterium Rhodobacter sphaeroides to the electrode via an exogenous electron acceptor was composed of two characteristic phases: an abrupt increase in current immediately after illumination (I₀), and constant current over time (Ic). Compared with other redox compounds, 2,5-dichloro-1,4-benzoquinone (DCBQ) was the most useful exogenous electron acceptor in this system. Photo-reduction of DCBQ exhibited Michaelis-Menten-like kinetics, and reduction rates were dependent on the amount of DCBQ and the photon flux intensity. The Ic decreased in the presence of KCN at concentrations over 0.05 μM (=μmol·dm(-3)). The I₀ decreased following the addition of phenol at concentrations over 20 μM. The Ic was affected by terbutryn at concentrations over 10 μM. In contrast, DCMU and atrazine had no effect on either I₀ or Ic. The utility of this electrode system for the detection of harmful compounds is discussed.

The validity of the two-node model for predicting the skin temperature in the thermal steady state is studied by comparing the calculated and experimental results for various thermal conditions. For the experimental results of steady-state skin temperature, in addition to the authors’ original experimental data, literature data for mean skin temperature are collected, incorporating 56 conditions and 233 subjects in total. The results show that the two-node model (the 1986 edition) that is widely used for calculating SET* predicts effectively the steady-state skin temperature in the low-activity conditions. Additionally, the changes that were made to the two-node model by Gagge et al. and ASHRAE are summarized. It is shown theoretically and by experimental validations that, of these changes, the addition of the shivering model represents the most significant improvement in terms of predicting the skin temperature in the steady state.

The flow cell proposed previously for the rapid and coulometric determination of cations based on the electrochemical ion transfer at the aqueous|organic solution interface was improved to be applicable to the determination of anions. The developed cell was composed of a porous poly(tetrafluoroethylene) tube (1.0 mm in inner diameter), a copper wire (0.8 mm in diameter) inserted into the tube, a platinum wire placed outside the tube, an organic solution into which the tube was immersed and a reference electrode in the organic solution. The aqueous solution containing a species of interest was flowed through the narrow gap between the tube and the copper wire. A potential difference was applied at the aqueous|organic solution interface by using the copper wire and the reference electrode in the organic solution in order to realize the ion transfer at the interface, and the current due to the interfacial ion transfer was detected by the copper and platinum wires. The developed cell was evaluated adopting the transfer of an anion such as perchlorate, picrate or alkylsulphonates from the aqueous solution to 1,2-dichloroethane (used as the organic solution), and demonstrated that the anions of 10−4 mol dm−3 level could be determined with coefficients of variations better than 0.2% (n = 5). The applicability of the developed cell to the flow injection analysis of anions was also discussed.

This paper presents evidence for severe lead contamination among children of samurai families living in a castle town in Edo period Japan (1603–1867). Excavated rib bones were analyzed by atomic absorption, and soft X-ray roentgenograms of long bones were taken. The median values of lead concentration in the bones of children 3 years of age and under(1241.0 μg Pb/g dry bone) and 4–6 years of age (462.5 μg Pb/g dry bone) were significantly higher than those of adult males (14.3 μg Pb/g dry bone) and females (23.6 μg Pb/g dry bone) ( p p p

Dental morphological characteristics of the early modern population (c. 17–19th century AD) of Okinawa Island, Nansei Islands, were investigated to clarify their genealogical characteristics. We observed and classified 25 nonmetric traits of tooth crowns and roots from human remains (106 individuals) excavated from tombs of the early modern period in Okuma, Ginowan City, Okinawa. The incidences of these traits were compared with the incidences in the populations of the other Nansei Islands, of Japan, and of Asia overall. Univariate analysis of each trait and multivariate biological distance analysis based on the frequencies of the traits showed that the Okinawa population in the early modern period more closely resembled the migrant Yayoi populations than it did the native Jomon populations. It is difficult to support the “Ainu-Ryukyu common origin theory” with regard to the early modern population in Okinawa without some modification of the theory, as well as the modern populations in Tanegashima and Okinawa Island. The geographical cline in the modern period from the northern Kyushu to the Okinawa Island via Tanegashima was confirmed in this analysis. Considering the major temporal changes in northern Kyushu and Tanegashima in addition to the geographical cline, the southward gene flow of the migrant Yayoi elements from northern Kyushu to the central Nansei Islands via the northeast end of the Nansei Islands is suggested. In addition, this study detected some temporal changes from the early modern to the modern period in Okinawa Island. Although the minor temporal change may be attributed to some genetic drift, gene flow from the Japanese main islands or China might be considered one of the causes of the change. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

We have succeeded in synthesizing macroscopically aligned helical polyacetylene (H-PA) by using magnetically oriented chiral nematic liquid crystal (N*-LC) with monodomain structure. The N*-LC with...

This study develops a model to predict the thermophysiological response of the human body during shower bathing. Despite the needs for the quantitative evaluation of human body response during bathing for thermal comfort and safety, the complicated mechanisms of heat transfer at the skin surface, especially during shower bathing, have disturbed the development of adequate models. In this study, an initial modeling approach is proposed by developing a simple heat transfer model at the skin surface during shower bathing applied to Stolwijk’s human thermal model. The main feature of the model is the division of the skin surface into three parts: a dry part, a wet part without water flow, and a wet part with water flow. The area ratio of each part is decided by a simple formula developed from a geometrical approach based on the shape of the Stolwijk’s human thermal model. At the same time, the convective heat transfer coefficient between the skin and the flowing water is determined experimentally. The proposed model is validated by a comparison with the results of human subject experiments under controlled and free shower conditions. The model predicts the mean skin temperature during shower fairly well both for controlled and free shower bathing styles.

For the prevention of the stack effect in high-rise buildings in winter, this paper studied a method to cool the shaft by natural ventilation through the opening between the shaft and out air. It was shown theoretically that the shaft is effectively cooled by putting the opening in the lower level of the shaft and thus the stack effect can be effectively prevented. By the calculation for a high-rise building based on the airflow network model and the steady heat balance analysis, it was shown quantitatively that the studied method is effective for general high-rise office buildings and that a careful survey is necessary before introducing this method for the following cases: 1)a case in which the down flow occur in the shaft influenced by the existence of another shaft, 2)a case in which there is no opening to the outside in the upper level of the shaft, 3)a case in which the humidity of the building is high.

The family register system used by the Tokugawa shogunate limited the ability of commoners to move freely from one location to another. It is thought that such restrictions on movement resulted in regional differences in lifestyle, including diet, arising from regional environmental differences. It is also likely that regional differences in lifestyle resulted in regional differences in health status, including oral health. In the present study, we examined differences in the dental pathology of commoners from two early modern settlements in Japan—the Kyoumachi site in Kokura, Fukuoka Prefecture and the Miwanoyama site in Nagareyama, Chiba Prefecture—as a preliminary analysis of regional differences in the dental pathology of early modern Japanese. We found that the prevalence of root caries and antemortem tooth loss (AMTL) were significantly higher in Miwanoyama commoners than in Kyoumachi commoners. In addition, the prevalence of severe enamel hypoplasia (EHP) in Miwanoyama commoners was significantly higher than that in Kyoumachi commoners, and the dental attrition of the Miwanoyama commoners was more severe than that of the Kyoumachi commoners. The present results therefore reveal considerable differences in dental pathology between commoners who lived in different areas. The high prevalence of root caries and AMTL in Miwanoyama suggests that periodontal disease spread among the commoners at this site, and the high prevalence of severe EHP and dental attrition in Miwanoyama suggests that the dietary status of the Miwanoyama commoners was inferior to that of the Kyoumachi commoners. We conclude that pathological differences in oral health status between the Miwanoyama and Kyoumachi commoners was most likely influenced by differences in lifestyle, including diet, arising from regional environmental differences.

In the current study, we investigated photoinduced electron transfer from chromatophore vesicles or intact cells of Rhodobacter sphaeroides to an exogenous artificial electron acceptor (2,5-dichloro-1,4-benzoquinone, DCBQ) by amperometric measurement using a rotating-disk electrode. We found that electrons transfer from chromatophores or intact cells to the working electrode via DCBQ in the presence of light. Application of a positive potential revealed that chromatophores or intact cells adsorbed to the surface of the working electrode. Photoreduction of DCBQ occurred by Michaelis–Menten type kinetics with respect to the photon flux intensity and DCBQ concentration, allowing Michaelis constants and maximum photoinduced electron transfer reaction rates to be calculated. Finally, we show that the system using chromatophores, which are more stable than intact cells, can be used to detect herbicides.

The performance of Stolwijk's 25-node thermal model of the human body was evaluated for the prediction of the skin temperature of a sedentary person in a thermal-transient state. The skin temperature calculated by the original Stolwijk model was compared to experimental data obtained systematically from a large number of subjects exposed to stepwise changes in environmental conditions, including neutral (29.4 °C), low (19.5 °C), and high (38.9 °C) ambient temperatures. The results show that the original Stolwijk model accurately predicts both the absolute value and the tendency in the transient mean skin temperature. This suggests that the Stolwijk model is valid for the prediction of the transient mean skin temperature for the “average” person under low-activity conditions. Discrepancies are observed in the local skin temperature for some segments. However, these discrepancies can be significantly reduced through modification of the basal skin blood flow distributions and the distributions of vasoconstriction and workload in the model.

A flow system was developed for the precise determination of Ca2+ based on the electrolytic ion transfer at the aqueous|1,2-dichloroethane, W|DCE, interface. N,N,N′,N′-tetraoctyl-1,3-oxapentanediamide was added to DCE to facilitate the transfer of Ca2+. The determination of Ca2+ could be achieved with an efficiency of 99.9±0.1% based on the coulomb number for the transfer of Ca2+. The coexistence of Mg2+, Na+, or K+ of concentration identical with that of Ca2+ did not give any interference. The interference from a large excess of Na+ was removed at another cell with DCE containing bis[(12-crown-4)methyl]-2-dodecyl-2-methylmalonate placed before the cell for the determination.

We analyzed the mitochondrial DNA extracted from 14 human skeletal remains from the Doigahama site in Japan to clarify the genetic structure of the Doigahama Yayoi population and the relationship between burial style and kinship among individuals. The sequence types obtained in this study were compared with those of the modern Japanese, northern Kyushu Yayoi and ancient Chinese populations. We found that the northern Kyushu Yayoi populations belonged to the groups that include most of the modern Japanese population. In contrast, most of the Doigahama Yayoi population belonged to the group that includes a small number of the modern Japanese population. These results suggest that the Doigahama Yayoi population might have contributed less to the formation of the modern Japanese population than the northern Kyushu Yayoi populations. Moreover, when we examined the kinship between individuals in the Doigahama site, we found that the vicinal burial of adult skeletons indicated a maternal kinship, although that of juvenile skeletons did not. The vicinal burial style might have been influenced by many factors, such as paternal lineages, periods and geographical regions, as well as maternal lineages. In addition, skeletons considered to be those of shamans or leaders had the same sequence types. Their crucial social roles may have been inherited through maternal lineage.

To develop a thermal model that can predict the thermal responses of the human body under given environmental conditions, it is necessary for the model to be fitted with the individual characteristics of human body temperature regulation. As the basis for this, in this paper, it is shown that the coefficients that represent the thermoregulatory responses in the two-node model (thermal model of human body) can be identified for individuals. Six coefficients related to the regulation of sweating and skin blood flow in the two-node model are tuned for the individuals involved in the experiments—the core and skin temperatures calculated by the model are fitted with the measured results for the entire thermal transient processes, including exposures to heat and cold.

Electrochemical reactions of manganese(III) complexes, Mn III (L)X (L; salen, salpn, 5-NO 2 –salen or 5-NO 2 –salpn, X; Cl, Br or NO 2 ) and Mn III (L’) 2 X (L’; N -Bu-sal, N -Oct–sal, N -Oct–5-Br–sal or N -Oct–5-NO 2 –sal, X; Cl or Br), were investigated by voltammetry at a glassy carbon electrode in the absence/presence of Cl − in acetonitrile solution. By the addition of Cl − , oxidation processes of Mn III (L)X and Mn III (L’) 2 X have been found to be improved from quasi-reversible to reversible, and their oxidation products, [Mn IV (L)X] + and [Mn IV (L’) 2 X] + , were stabilized by the combination with Cl − resulting in [Mn IV (L)Cl 2 ] and [Mn IV (L’) 2 Cl 2 ], respectively. On the other hand, the reduction processes of Mn III (L)X and Mn III (L’) 2 Cl were not so significantly affected by Cl − as those observed for their oxidation. Other types of manganese(III) complexes and iron(III) complex were also investigated. The present study may clarify the role of Cl − being involved in OEC (oxygen-evolving center) in photosystem II.

This study examined the pressurization smoke control method in the congregated vertical shaft in case of an underground fire. The pressurization smoke control can secure a refuge route by preventing an invasion of smoke to lobby. The congregated vertical shaft exhaust system is a method to shut smoke out of a room. However, it can happen that smoke exhausted from a lower floor leaks from an exhaust opening of an upper floor congregated vertical shaft. Therefore, in this study, for the purpose of grasping the behavior of the leakage of smoke in congregated vertical shaft with pressurization smoke control system, an equation to determine the rate of smoke leakage from the dimension of the building and the behavior of the fire is shown theoretically. Furthermore, a simple method for the design of the shaft setup height and the shaft cross-section area is proposed from the viewpoint of prevention of smoke leakage.

The purpose of this paper is the establishment of the method to confirm at the normal temperature that the pressurization smoke control system is able to block off smoke in case of the fire. A theory is constructed to determine the opening condition of smoke insulation door at the normal temperature which realizes the air flow rate equivalent to that in case of the fire. Although the opening information in the actual building usually does not agree with that in the planning, it is necessary to know the opening information in the actual building. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a procedure to know the opening information by two measurements at normal temperature., and the same time, to judge whether the system is able to block off smoke in case of fire. Moreover the simplified method is proposed for evaluating the performance to block off smoke only from the measurement of one case where the door is fully opened door at the normal temperature. As shown in the example, it would be possible to judge the appropriateness of pressurization smoke control system based on the result of the measurement at the normal temperature.

We present a heating system with thermal storage using a heat pump which supplies heat to the thermal storage installed in a crawl space of a residential house insulated at the foundation walls. We used latent thermal storage materials. This system can charge heat by using cheap nighttime electricity and discharge the stored heat at daytime. We showed equations to determine the air volumes of the heat pump and the ventilator, and equations to determine the phase transition temperature and the amount of the latent thermal storage materials to keep the room setting temperature. We constructed a computer simulation program of this heating system and confirmed the validity of these equations.

‘Crawl-space heating’ is a heating system using the crawl space as a duct for heat transport from a heat pump. The purpose of this study is to grasp the convective heat-transfer coefficient at the slab-concrete surface and the floor-under surface, under the condition of crawl-space heating. When the crawl-space heating is operated, the air velocity in the crawl space is generally 0.05-0.20m/s and the heat transfer is caused by both the forced convection and the natural convection. We measure the convective heat-transfer coefficient by the wind tunnel test. It is revealed that the convective heat-transfer coefficient at the slab-concrete surface is about 1.0-4.0W/m2K and that at the floor-under surface is about 6.0-10.0W/m2K.

In order to evaluate the influences that differences in concrete strength have on hygrothermal behavior in walls, the water vapor permeability, equilibrium moisture content, hydraulic conductivity and thermal conductivity of concrete samples with three different strengths were measured. The following results were obtained:The water vapor permeability and hydraulic conductivity tend to decrease with increasing strength. Movement of both the vapor and liquid phase occurs even at relatively low relative humidity.Furthermore, a method of separating the moisture conductivities into the vapor and liquid phases was proposed and examined by making use of the measured results.

We present a heating system with thermal storage using a heat pump which supplies heat to the thermal storage installed in a crawl space of a residential house insulated at the foundation walls. We used sensible thermal storage materials. This system can charge heat by using cheap nighttime electricity and discharge the stored heat at daytime. It is revealed by experimental studies that thermal behavior of the room is greatly influenced by the heat capacity of the thermal storage. We constructed a computer simulation program of this heating system and showed the ratio of the stored heat for generated heat by the heat pump with the volume of the thermal storage materials. We showed the way to determine the volume of the thermal storage materials and the capacity of the heat pump.