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Wallenberg's syndrome (WS) is caused by a stroke in the lateral medulla and can present with various symptoms. One of the main symptoms is vertigo, which can be misdiagnosed as noncentral vertigo (NCV). Approximately 90% of the patients with acute WS have a lateral difference in body surface temperature (BST) due to autonomic pathway disturbances from infarction. Additionally, thermography can aid in WS diagnosis; however, whether BST differences occur in patients with acute NCV is unclear. This study used thermography to measure the BST of patients with NCV and acute WS to determine the effectiveness of BST to differentiate between the conditions. Forty-eight consecutive patients diagnosed with NCV whose BST was measured using thermography during a hospital visit or admission were enrolled. The left and right BST of four sites (face, trunk, and upper and lower limbs) were measured and compared with obtained BST of nine patients with WS. Twenty-two patients had lateral differences in BST ≥ 0.5°C, three with ≥1.5°C, and none with ≥2.5°C. Only one patient with NCV had lateral differences in BST at two or more ipsilateral sites. When WS differentiated from NCV, a left–right difference ≥0.5°C in two or more ipsilateral sites had a sensitivity of 89% and specificity of 98%, and ≥1.0°C had a sensitivity of 78% and specificity of 98%. Acute WS can be differentiated from NCV through BST and the number of sites with lateral differences via thermography, even in rooms where conditions are unregulated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scurvy, a condition caused by vitamin C deficiency, is rare, especially in high-income countries. Symptoms of scurvy are typically characterised by dermatological disorders such as poor wound healing and tooth loss, but there is not usually cardiac involvement. A case of reversible pulmonary hypertension and right-sided heart failure owing to scurvy in a 7-year-old boy with autism spectrum disorder is reported. He had a very restricted diet and presented with polyarthralgia, gingival hyperplasia with ecchymosis, and fatigue. His condition, including pulmonary hypertension and right-sided heart failure, completely resolved with vitamin C supplementation. Paediatricians should have a high index of suspicion for scurvy in children with nutritional selectivity and be aware that it can manifest with cardiac symptoms. Scurvy may be life-threatening if not treated, but the symptoms can improve rapidly with vitamin C supplementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synthetic data generation is generally used in performance evaluation and function tests in data-intensive applications, as well as in various areas of data analytics, such as privacy-preserving data publishing (PPDP) and statistical disclosure limit/control. A significant amount of research has been conducted on tools and languages for data generation. However, existing tools and languages have been developed for specific purposes and are unsuitable for other domains. In this article, we propose a regular expression-based data generation language (DGL) for flexible big data generation. To achieve a general-purpose and powerful DGL, we enhanced the standard regular expressions to support the data domain, type/format inference, sequence and random generation, probability distributions, and resource reference. To efficiently implement the proposed language, we propose caching techniques for both the intermediate and database queries. We evaluated the proposed improvement experimentally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobile radiography allows for the diagnostic imaging of patients who cannot move to the X-ray examination room. Therefore, mobile X-ray equipment is useful for patients who have difficulty with movement. However, staff are exposed to scattered radiation from the patient, and they can receive potentially harmful radiation doses during radiography. We estimated occupational exposure during mobile radiography using phantom measurements. Scattered radiation distribution during mobile radiography was investigated using a radiation survey meter. The efficacy of radiation-reducing methods for mobile radiography was also evaluated. The dose decreased as the distance from the X-ray center increased. When the distance was more than 150 cm, the dose decreased to less than 1 μSv. It is extremely important for radiological technologists (RTs) to maintain a sufficient distance from the patient to reduce radiation exposure. The spatial dose at eye-lens height increases when the bed height is high, and when the RT is short in stature and abdominal imaging is performed. Maintaining sufficient distance from the patient is also particularly effective in limiting radiation exposure of the eye lens. Our results suggest that the doses of radiation received by staff during mobile radiography are not significant when appropriate radiation protection is used. To reduce exposure, it is important to maintain a sufficient distance from the patient. Therefore, RTs should bear this is mind during mobile radiography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An 11-month-old male infant with ascending paralysis had an unremarkable initial cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis and imaging. Progressive neurological symptoms resulted in repeated CSF sampling, microscopy, and plasma microbial cell-free DNA next-generation sequencing analysis, that in combination with epidemiology, confirmed the diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbonization of TiO2, which is a process typically used to synthesize TiC, consumes a huge amount of energy. Low-temperature synthesis of TiC from carbon-infiltrated TiO2 has been investigated in this study to develop an energy-saving process. Porous TiO2 was first obtained by hydrochloric acid leaching of ilmenite (FeTiO3) ore. Then, carbon-infiltrated TiO2 was prepared from the porous TiO2 using a tar impregnation method, and its reaction behavior was observed. The carbon-infiltrated TiO2 was completely converted into TiC which contained 3.0 mol pct oxygen at 1300 °C for 2 hours. In contrast, a mixture of reagents TiO2 and carbon did not react when it was subjected to the same treatment. This major difference is due to the effect of close contact between TiO2 and carbon through the nanopores generated in TiO2 obtained by acid leaching of ilmenite ore. It was concluded that this method has significantly lower temperature and much shorter reaction time than those of conventional methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Futsal is a five-a-side version of football played on a smaller pitch. In futsal, most injuries affect the lower extremity (70%), followed by the head and neck (13%), and the incidence of concussion is reportedly 3.6-times higher than in football. Wearing a faceguard (FG) after maxillofacial injury can allow early, safe return to sports after injury, and the demand for FGs has been rising annually. This study examined the clinical effectiveness of a FG customized for a 30-year-old male futsal player in a top Japanese league team following nasal bone fracture. We also investigated the clinical assessment of the FG by the player, to obtain information for further development of FGs for futsal players. First, a case was made. Support areas of the FG were assigned to the frontal region and zygomatic arch. The eyes and nasal apex were left as uncovered as possible to minimize effects on the field of vision. A 3.2-mm-thick hard thermoplastic material was then softened and molded over the cast with light finger pressure. Cushioning materials were adhered to both inner and outer surfaces of the thermoplastic material. The FG was secured to the face using two stretch bands with hook-and-loop fasteners. Until fracture healing was confirmed after 3 weeks, the patient used the FG 15 times in practice and once in a preseason match. After using the FG, a questionnaire with 11-point rating scales was administered, asking: 1) about age, sex, and type of sports; 2) about frequency of and dissatisfaction with use; 3) about protective ability and comfort of FG use; and 4) about visual field in 4 directions (upper, lower, inside and outside). While protection ability and comfort appeared good with FG use, more attention in the design may need to be paid to fit and the lower visual field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low-grade iron ore with high combined water (CW) content (e.g., goethite) has been first dehydrated at low temperatures mildly to be slit-shaped nano-order pore, then has been reduced by ethanol (C 2 H 5 OH) charging under the heating conditions. Bioethanol as derived from biomass, regarded as a renewable and carbon-neutral resource, is a promising candidate as a reducing agent for ironmaking. In the experiments, ethanol was dropwise added to the mild-dehydrated, porous iron ore beds at heating conditions using the temperature-program. As a result, the ethanol was soon decomposed to CO and H 2 , which then reduced the iron oxides. Porous iron ore acts as a good catalyst for ethanol decomposition as it simultaneously reduces to metallic iron. Interestingly, iron oxides were reduced at a lower temperature, compared to conventional coal-based ironmaking in the blast furnace. Metallic Fe was obtained at only 750 °C, showing a reduction degree of 81%, due to the contribution of hydrogen reduction. The longer charging time of ethanol promotes the higher reduction degree as well as sufficient compositions of reducing gas (H 2 -CO) for the reduction process. The results of experiments using different iron ores revealed the general rule that the higher CW content in ore makes the larger surface area of the iron ore by mild-dehydration, causing higher reactivity in the reduction process. The results appealed that mild-dehydrated iron ore is good raw materials of bioethanol ironmaking, due to its nanopores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vacuum circuit breakers are widely used in medium-voltage class. In vacuum circuit breakers, restrikes and non-sustained disruptive discharges sometimes occur after current interruptions. It is said that these late breakdowns are triggered by the microparticles. This paper aims to investigate the relationship between the motion of microparticles and subsequent late breakdown phenomena. It does by artificially injecting microparticles into the vacuum gap and observing their motion using a highspeed video camera. We focused on the sputtering of the electrode material during the current interruption and the mechanical stress of the switching operation as being the origin of these microparticles. We found that the motion of microparticles can be grouped into two distinct patterns: bouncing and attaching. Bouncing microparticles seem to be made of metal, while most of the attaching microparticles attached themselves to the cathode, and their charge was about five times greater than that of the bouncing microparticles. The attaching microparticles seem to be positively charged by secondary electron emissions from the surface under electron bombardment due to the field emission current from the cathode. From these results, we believe that the surfaces of the attaching particles are covered with an insulating layer. From our observations of the production of microparticles by mechanical stress, we have found that the breakdown voltage of the gap drastically drops after a mechanical switching operation where microparticles are produced. The breakdown voltage is restored with repetitive mechanical switching operations and subsequent voltage application. However, the breakdown voltage drops again when the operating speed of the electrode is increased. We also found that microparticles are scattered from the cathode spots on electrodes that have not been current-conditioned, and they are hardly produced from electrodes that are current-conditioned. From these results, we believe that controlling the speed of the mechanical switching operation and the current conditioning are effective ways to prevent the microparticles from being produced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Fe2VAl was synthesized by single thermite-type combustion synthesis (STCS). [•] The Fe2VAl synthesized by STCS had low thermal conductivity. [•] The maximum value of the power factor was 99.6μWm−1 K−2. [•] The maximum value of the dimensionless figure of merit was 2.19×10−3 at 309K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aims of the present study were to investigate the shock absorption capability and force dispersion effect of mouthguard (MG) materials using load cell and film sensors. Two kinds of MG materials, ethylene vinyl acetate and polyolefin, were chosen for this study. When impact forces of approximately 5,000 N were applied on the MG materials using a round flat-nosed rod and a bluntly pointed rod, peak intensities were measured using the load cell sensor while peak stresses and impressed stress distribution areas were measured using the film sensor. Combined analysis using both load cell and film sensors clearly showed the shock absorption properties and force dispersion effects of different MG materials with different impact object shapes. Therefore, impact analysis involving a combined use of these sensor systems was useful and reliable in assessing the shock absorption capability and force dispersion effect of MG materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Heat-resistant nanocomposite films with high refractive indices. [•] In situ polymerization to disperse refractive nanoparticles into polyimide films. [•] A combination of thermal and chemical imidizations to enhance refractive index. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Crystalline nanoparticles of barium titanate (BT) are incorporated into polyimide (PI) to fabricate highly refractive, anti-UV-degradable nanocomposite films with high permittivity and thermal stability. For homogeneous incorporation of BT nanoparticles into the PI matrix, the BT nanoparticles are surface modified by phthalimide with the aid of a silane coupling agent as a scaffold. The PI nanocomposites are prepared by in situ polymerization in which a diphthalic anhydride and a diamine are used to form the PI matrix in the presence of the surface-modified nanoparticles. The refractive index of the transparent nanocomposite films reaches 1.85 at a nanoparticle content of 59 vol% with a high dielectric constant of ε = 37 and thermal stability up to 460 °C. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The clinical practice of sports dentistry by the sixth-year students of The Tokyo Medical and Dental University Faculty of Dentistry was carried out by the students in order to learn about the basic knowledge of mouthguard fabrication methods. Our present research was conducted by a questionnaire on the students' evaluation of the sports dentistry clinical practice. In response to the question related to the level of satisfaction and whether it is beneficial to clinical practice of sports dentistry, 82% of the students answered "satisfied" including "satisfied a little" and 87% "beneficial" including "slightly beneficial". Based on the questionnaire results, the clinical practice of sports dentistry was confirmed to have an educational effect on the students at some level. In addition, the results suggested that mouthguard fabrication may possibly provide motivation for students to learn sports dentistry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Saliva plays an important role in the health of soft and hard tissues in the oral cavity. Studies have shown that a reduction of salivary secretion causes a decrease of oral sugar clearance capacity in humans, thereby resulting in an increase in dental caries. The purpose of this study was to investigate possible inhibitory effects of fluid replacement on exercise-induced declines of salivary secretion in association with the physical effort of bicycle ergometer exercise in healthy volunteer subjects. Material and methods: Eight female and 14 male healthy volunteers (mean age 26.9 years) performed a 40-min bicycle ergometer exercise test with an 80% level of maximum heart rate for the following 3 conditions of fluid replacement ; 1) No fluid replacement, 2) Fluid replacement with a natural mineral water, 3) Fluid replacement with a sports drink. Timing and intake of fluid replacements during the exercise test were placed at the subject's disposal. Paraffin stimulated whole saliva samples were collected before, during, immediately after, 30-mins after and 60-mins after the test to measure the salivary flow, pH, buffering capacity and colony-forming units of Streptococcus mutans. Results: The mean intake of fluid replacements with a natural mineral water and a sports drink were 502.7 ml and 690.7 ml, respectively (paired t-test, p<0.01). While the salivary flow and buffering capacity after exercise for the condition of no fluid replacement decreased by 1.87 ml (31.3%) and 0.15 pH units, respectively, the salivary flow and buffering capacity after exercise for the conditions of fluid replacement with natural mineral water and a sports drink decreased by 1.05 ml (18.0%) and 0.14 pH units, and 0.56 ml (9.3%) and 0.33 pH units, respectively (ANOVA, p<0.05). The number of colony forming units of Streptococcus mutans did not change for any condition of fluid replacement after exercise (X² test, p=0.167-0.200). Conclusion: This study indicates that fluid replacement during exercise is an effective way of suppressing the reduction of saliva flow as well as for preventing dehydration, and suggests that fluid replacement during exercise contributes to maintain a better oral environment for athletes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the issues related to the scenario of politics in Japan. As mentioned, observers of Japanese law and politics have been concerned about the nationalistic attitude of Japanese politicians. It mentions of the Supreme Court case Kikuya v. Taniuchi regarding the issue concerning Japanese constitutional scheme its relation to separation of church and state.

We report on the fabrication of a custom faceguard (FG) for a soccer player injured with a complex fracture of the zygomatic bone and orbit. The patient was a 29-year-old male. He came to our clinic two months after open reduction with titanium plates. His chief concern was making a FG to play soccer safely and without anxiety. Treatment: 1 We made a facial moulage with an irreversible hydrocolloid impression material and an impression plaster material. 2 We poured the moulage with Type IV dental stone to make the facial cast. In designing the outline of the FG, it was critical to leave the eyes uncovered to avoid narrowing the field of vision, especially the uninjured side where there was not adequate space between the FG and the injured area. We softened a sheet of 3.2 mm thick thermoplastic material in hot water (about 70-75°C), and applied and molded it over the cast with right finger pressure. After the material had cooled, we trimmed it to the desired outline drawn on the cast. Then, we used adhesive to adhere 1.6 mm (outside) - and 3.2 mm (inside) -thick rubber cushioning materials to both surfaces of the sheet. Finally, we sewed the edges of cushioning liner materials of FG. 3 After the fitting, the FG was secured on the patient using two stretch bands with hook and loop fasteners. 4 For a while after using the FG, he complained about unwanted movement of the FG when doing a header maneuver. Therefore, we modified the shape of the metopic area. At the same time, a questionnaire survey was done, which included the visual analog scale concerning the feeling and field of vision. As a result, he could use the FG comfortably except the field of vision slightly narrower. Summary: To popularize the use of FG in the future, each case should devise it in consideration of the injured area, symptoms, progress of cure, characteristic of the sport, and position, and so on. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Licorice, the primary ingredient of the Japanese herbal medicine shakuyaku-kanzo-to, can cause pseudoaldosteronism. Thus, shakuyaku-kanzo-to can cause this condition. Case description: A 79-year-old woman was brought to the emergency room. She had been experiencing general fatigue, numbness in the hands, and weakness in the lower limbs and could not stand up without assistance. She presented with hypokalemia (potassium level, 1.7 mEq/L), increased urinary excretion of potassium (fractional excretion of K, 21.2%), abnormalities on an electrocardiogram (flat T waves in II, III, AVF, and V1-6), rhabdomyolysis (creatine kinase level, 28,376 U/L), myopathy, metabolic alkalosis with respiratory compensation (O2 flow rate, 2 L/min; pH, 7.473; p2, 61.0 mm Hg; p2, 78.0 mm Hg; HCO3, 44.1 mmol/L), hypertension (174/93 mm Hg), hyperglycemia (blood glucose level, 200–300 mg/dL), frequent urination, suppressed plasma renin activity (0.1 ng/mL/hour), decreased aldosterone levels (2.6 ng/dL), and increased urinary cortisol levels (600.6 μg/day; reference range, 26.0–187.0 μg/day). Conclusions: In this case, the observed reduction in the urinary cortisol levels, from 600.6 to 37.8 μg/day, led to a definitive diagnosis of pseudoaldosteronism instead of the apparent mineralocorticoid excess syndrome. Discontinuing shakuyaku-kanzo-to treatment and administering spironolactone and potassium proved effective in improving the patient's condition. Medical practitioners prescribing shakuyaku-kanzo-to should take into account the association between licorice, which is its main ingredient, and pseudoaldosteronism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we investigated the effects of δ-opioid receptor antagonists on the G protein-coupled inwardly rectifying potassium (GIRK) channel currents induced by serotonin (5-HT) and noradrenaline (NAd) in the dorsal raphe and the locus coeruleus neurons, respectively. Perforated patch and conventional whole-cell patch clamp recording techniques were used for the study. Neurons were acutely dissociated from neonatal rats. Both naltrindole (NTI) and naltriben (NTB), which are selective δ-antagonists possessing antitussive activity in in vivo animal studies, reversibly inhibited the 5-HT-induced GIRK channel currents (I5-HT) in dorsal raphe neurons. This inhibition was concentration-dependent and voltage-independent. The half-maximum inhibitory concentration (IC50) on I5-HT was 9.84×10−5 M for NTI and 1.28×10−5 M for NTB. The inhibition was not reversed by 10−5 M DPDPE, a selective δ-opioid receptor agonist. NTI did not affect 50% effective concentration (EC50) on the concentration–response relationship for 5-HT but inhibited the maximum response. In neurons internally perfused with GTPγS, both NTI and NTB also inhibited the GIRK channel currents irreversibly activated by 5-HT. Furthermore, these antagonists concentration dependently inhibited 10−6 M NAd-induced currents (INAd) in locus coeruleus neurons. The IC50 of NTI on INAd was 8.44×10−5 M, which was close to that on I5-HT. The results suggest that NTI and NTB, which are δ-opioid receptor antagonists possessing antitussive activity, may inhibit GIRK channel currents through a non-opioid action, and give further support to our idea previously proposed that centrally acting non-narcotic antitussives have a common characteristic of the inhibitory action on GIRK channels. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper presents a proposal for infrared ray emission computed tomography (IRECT). This is a method for visualizing the two-dimensional physical quantum distributions (e.g., temperature, concentration) on an arbitrary transaxial layer of an object by calculating the infrared radiation intensity emitted from the object as the projection data. To verify the usefulness of this method, an experimental system with pyroelectric detector is developed for measuring flame temperature distribution and this system is applied to a Bunsen flame. The experiments yield good images of thermic intensity distribution in the cross section of the flame. In addition, the usefulness of this method in measuring temperature distribution is confirmed by comparing the results with thermocouple probe measurement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Short-term cultured suspension cells of rice (Oryza sativa L.) are capable of regeneration, but not in long-term culture. For clarification of the mechanism of regeneration, protein phosphorylation in short-term and long-term cultured suspension cells was compared by two dimensional- polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. A 56 kDa protein having an isoelectric point of 4.5 was phosphorylated in vitro in short-term cultured suspension cells, but was not phosphorylated after regeneration. This protein in longterm cultured suspension cells remained phosphorylated after transfer to the regeneration medium. However, using an antibody raised against this protein from short-term cultured suspension cells, it was always detected in long-term and short-term cultured suspension cells after transfer to the regeneration medium. The partial amino acid sequence of the HPLC-purified protein showed homology to a calcium-binding protein from maize. The phosphorylation of the 56 kDa protein (pp56) appears to be associated with the regeneration of cultured rice cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]