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We have generated a high-resolution catalog called the “Japan Unified hIgh-resolution relocated Catalog for Earthquakes” (JUICE), which can be used to evaluate the geometry and seismogenic depth of active faults in Japan. We relocated > 1.1 million hypocenters from the NIED Hi-net catalog for events which occurred between January 2001 and December 2012, to a depth of 40 km. We apply a relative hypocenter determination method to the data in each grid square, in which entire Japan is divided into 1257 grid squares to parallelize the relocation procedure. We used a double-difference method, incorporating cross-correlating differential times as well as catalog differential times. This allows us to resolve, in detail, a seismicity distribution for the entire Japanese Islands. We estimated location uncertainty by a statistical resampling method, using Jackknife samples, and show that the uncertainty can be within 0.37 km in the horizontal and 0.85 km in the vertical direction with a 90% confidence interval for areas with good station coverage. Our seismogenic depth estimate agrees with the lower limit of the hypocenter distribution for a recent earthquake on the Kamishiro fault (2014, Mj 6.7), which suggests that the new catalog should be useful for estimating the size of future earthquakes for inland active faults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Background: The control of airway inflammation is crucial for management of asthma. Theophylline has been demonstrated to have an anti-inflammatory effect as a long-term-medication for asthma in various studies. In the present study we attempted to clarify if aminophylline, a theophylline derivative, could act as an anti-inflammatory agent as well as a bronchodilator in the treatment for acute asthma exacerbations. Methods: Patients are initially treated either with an intravenous infusion of aminophylline or with inhalation of salbutamol. Pro-inflammatory mediators such as eosinophil cationic protein (ECP), histamine, serotonin, thromboxane B2, leukotriene C4 were measured before and one hour after the initial treatment. Clinical parameters such as peak expiratory flow (PEF) and SpO2 were also checked during the studies. Results: Significant improvements of PEF and SpO2 with both aminophylline and salbutamol treatment were seen. Furthermore, significant decreases of ECP, histamine, and serotonin were observed with aminophylline but not with salbutamol. Conclusions: Suppressing the release of pro-inflammatory mediators may play a role, at least in part, in the beneficial effects of aminophylline in the treatment of acute exacerbations in asthma. Additionally, this study indicated that treatment with aminophylline is at least as beneficial as nebulized salbutamol in the restoration of lung function. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A π-expanded BODIPY dye with an intramolecular boronate skeleton was synthesized by retro Diels–Alder reaction of the bicyclo[2.2.2]octadiene (BCOD)-fused BODIPY and the subsequent O-chelation. The photophysical and electrochemical properties were examined by UV–vis, fluorescence, CV measurements, and DFT calculation. This BODIPY exhibited the absorption and emission over a visible–NIR region at 600–850 nm. O-chelated BODIPY showed a bathocromic shift compared to F-BODIPYs. This dye showed a bright fluorescence emission at 733 nm with the high Φ value of 0.58. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The photostabilities of three novel bicyclo-boron dipyrromethene difluoride dyes (bicyclo-BODIPY) in solution were investigated by measuring the fluorescence intensity as a function of accumulated 532 nm laser pulses. At 10−6 M concentration 2-butanone and methanol solutions of the novel bicyclo-BODIPY dyes 1 and 2 exhibited photodegradation half-lives within 25% of the photodegradation half-life for 1,3,5,7,8-pentamethyl-2,6,-di-t-butyl pyrromethene difluoroborate (PM-597). At 10−7 M the photostability of a 2-butanone solution of bicyclo-BODIPY 2 is only half that of PM-597. Bicyclo-BODIPY dyes 1 and 2 demonstrated maxima in the fluorescence vs. accumulated pulses plots, attributed to a fluorescent benzo intermediate produced by a retro Diels–Alder reaction. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]