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In 1884, the term "glacier" was translated into Japanese to "Hyoga", meaning rivers of ice, when the English textbook "Physiography" written by T.H. Huxley in 1877 was translated. This nomenclature was employed by Tei Nishimura, a government official, who studied in Scotland and might be familiar with the flow behavior of valley glaciers. Thus, the term "Hyoga" (a river of ice) was established from an understanding of the glacial flow. Before the term "Hyoga" appeared, features of valley glaciers had already been introduced in Japan in 1877. At this time, "glacier" was translated as "Hyotai" (meaning ice belts), although the description of glaciers as rivers of ice had been written clearly in the original book. The translator of "Hyotai" resisted the translation of glacier to "Hyoga" because hyoga (ice rivers) traditionally meant rivers frozen during the winter; he was also unaware of glacial tongues. After the term "Hyoga" appeared, the term "Hyoden" was often used for "glacier" in Japan during the mid-Meiji era (1884-1895). "Hyoden" means ice fields, and was originally the translation for "glacier" in China. "Hyoga", which applies to alpine glaciers as well as ice sheets, is in common use in Japan today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microbial polyesters, which are bio-synthesized from renewable carbon recourses such as sugars and plant oils, are biodegradable in the natural environment. For this reason, these polymers are of interest for solving environment and resource problems. However, they have not been put into practical use due to their brittleness, but in recent year, the physical properties could be improved. This report introduces a new drawing method, the development of materials by the bio-synthesis of ultra-high-molecular-weight microbial polyesters and their blends. Furthermore we report on the relationship between crystal structure, highly order structure and physical properties of those improved materials and their enzymatic degradation behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Purpose] We compared the degree of lengthening between the proximal and distal regions of the semitendinosus muscle during stretching with different joint positions. [Subjects] Seven healthy men participated in the study. [Methods] Each subject performed two stretching trials: 1) Straight leg raise (SLR) stretching, 2) Hip flexion and knee extension (HFKE stretching). Ultrasonography was used to assess the muscle architecture. [Results] In the proximal region of the semitendinosus, the distance ratio between ischial tuberosity and tendinous intersection per muscle length of HFKE stretching was significantly larger than that of SLR stretching. In the distal region, the pennation angle of SLR stretching was significantly smaller than that of HFKE stretching, and the muscle thickness was not different between the two stretching conditions. [Conclusion] These results indicate that the proximal region is lengthened more by HFKE stretching than by SLR stretching, and the distal region is lengthened more by SLR stretching than by HFKE stretching. This finding suggests that the lengthened regions can be changed by the position of the joints during stretching of bi-articular muscles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]