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Broad-based species comparisons across mammalian orders suggest a number of factors that might influence the evolution of large brains. However, the relationship between these factors and total and regional brain size remains unclear. This study investigated the relationship between relative brain size and regional brain volumes and sociality in 13 felid species in hopes of revealing relationships that are not detected in more inclusive comparative studies. In addition, a more detailed analysis was conducted of 4 focal species: lions (Panthera leo), leopards (Panthera pardus), cougars (Puma concolor), and cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus). These species differ markedly in sociality and behavioral flexibility, factors hypothesized to contribute to increased relative brain size and/or frontal cortex size. Lions are the only truly social species, living in prides. Although cheetahs are largely solitary, males often form small groups. Both leopards and cougars are solitary. Of the four species, leopards exhibit the most behavioral flexibility, readily adapting to changing circumstances. Regional brain volumes were analyzed using computed tomography (CT). Skulls (n=75) were scanned to create three-dimensional virtual endocasts, and regional brain volumes were measured using either sulcal or bony landmarks obtained from the endocasts or skulls. Phylogenetic least squares (PGLS) regression analyses found that sociality does not correspond with larger relative brain size in these species. However, the sociality/solitary variable significantly predicted anterior cerebrum (AC) volume, a region that includes frontal cortex. This latter finding is despite the fact that the two social species in our sample, lions and cheetahs, possess the largest and smallest relative AC volumes, respectively. Additionally, an ANOVA comparing regional brain volumes in 4 focal species revealed that lions and leopards, while not significantly different from one another, have relatively larger AC volumes than are found in cheetahs or cougars. Further, female lions possess a significantly larger AC volume than conspecific males; female lion values were also larger than those of the other three species (regardless of sex). These results may reflect greater complexity in a female lion’s social world, but additional studies are necessary. These data suggest that within family comparisons may reveal variations not easily detected by broad comparative analyses.

We sought to identify brain activation differences in conduct-problem youth with limited prosocial emotions (LPE) compared to conduct-problem youth without LPE and community adolescents, and to test associations between brain activation and severity of callous-unemotional traits. We utilized a novel task, which asks subjects to repeatedly decide whether to accept offers where they will benefit but a beneficent other will be harmed. Behavior on this task has been previously associated with levels of prosocial emotions and severity of callous-unemotional traits, and is related to empathic concern. During fMRI acquisition, 66 male adolescents (21 conduct-problem patients with LPE, 21 without, and 24 typically-developing controls) played this novel game. Within typically-developing controls, we identified a network engaged during decision involving bilateral insula, and inferior parietal and medial frontal cortices, among other regions. Group comparisons using non-parametric (distribution-free) permutation tests demonstrated LPE patients had lower activation estimates than typically-developing adolescents in right anterior insula. Additional significant group differences emerged with our a priori parametric cluster-wise inference threshold. These results suggest measurable functional brain activation differences in conduct-problem adolescents with LPE compared to typically-developing adolescents. Such differences may underscore differential treatment needs for conduct-problem males with and without LPE.

Bacterial haemolytic jaundice caused by Ichthyobacterium seriolicida has been responsible for mortality in farmed yellowtail, Seriola quinqueradiata, in western Japan since the 1980s. In this study, polymorphic analysis of I. seriolicida was performed using three molecular methods: amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analysis, multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and multiple-locus variable-number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA). Twenty-eight isolates were analysed using AFLP, while 31 isolates were examined by MLST and MLVA. No polymorphisms were identified by AFLP analysis using EcoRI and MseI, or by MLST of internal fragments of eight housekeeping genes. However, MLVA revealed variation in repeat numbers of three elements, allowing separation of the isolates into 16 sequence types. The unweighted pair group method using arithmetic averages cluster analysis of the MLVA data identified four major clusters, and all isolates belonged to clonal complexes. It is likely that I. seriolicida populations share a common ancestor, which may be a recently introduced strain.

Some youths develop multiple substance use disorders early in adolescence and have severe, persistent courses. Such youths often exhibit impulsivity, risk-taking, and problems of inhibition. However, relatively little is known about the possible brain bases of these behavioral traits, especially among females. Methods We recruited right-handed female patients, 14–19 years of age, from a university-based treatment program for youths with substance use disorders and community controls similar for age, race and zip code of residence. We obtained 43 T1-weighted structural brain images (22 patients and 21 controls) to examine group differences in cortical thickness across the entire brain as well as six a priori regions-of-interest: 1) medial orbitofrontal cortex; 2) rostral anterior cingulate cortex; and 3) middle frontal cortex, in each hemisphere. Age and IQ were entered as nuisance factors for all analyses. Results A priori region-of-interest analyses yielded no significant differences. However, whole-brain group comparisons revealed that the left pregenual rostral anterior cingulate cortex extending into the left medial orbitofrontal region (355.84 mm2 in size), a subset of two of our a priori regions-of-interest, was significantly thinner in patients compared to controls (vertex-level threshold p = 0.005 and cluster-level family wise error corrected threshold p = 0.05). The whole-brain group differences did not survive after adjusting for depression or externalizing scores. Whole-brain within-patient analyses demonstrated a positive association between cortical thickness in the left precuneus and behavioral disinhibition scores (458.23 mm2 in size). Conclusions Adolescent females with substance use disorders have significant differences in brain cortical thickness in regions engaged by the default mode network and that have been associated with problems of emotional dysregulation, inhibition, and behavioral control in past studies.

In high-intensity laser light, matter can be ionized by direct multiphoton absorption even at photon energies below the ionization threshold. However on tuning the laser to the lowest resonant transition, the system becomes multiply excited, and more efficient, indirect ionization pathways become operative. These mechanisms are known as interatomic Coulombic decay (ICD), where one of the species de-excites to its ground state, transferring its energy to ionize another excited species. Here we show that on tuning to a higher resonant transition, a previously unknown type of interatomic Coulombic decay, intra-Rydberg ICD occurs. In it, de-excitation of an atom to a close-lying Rydberg state leads to electron emission from another neighbouring Rydberg atom. Moreover, systems multiply excited to higher Rydberg states will decay by a cascade of such processes, producing even more ions. The intra-Rydberg ICD and cascades are expected to be ubiquitous in weakly-bound systems exposed to high-intensity resonant radiation., 原子の集団が数珠つなぎに電子を放出する! : 極紫外自由電子レーザーで誘起される新現象解明. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2016-12-12.

BACKGROUND: Some conduct-disordered youths have high levels of callous unemotional traits and meet the DSM-5's "with limited prosocial emotions" (LPE) specifier. These youths often do aggressive, self-benefitting acts that cost others. We previously developed a task, the AlAn's game, which asks participants to repeatedly decide whether to accept or reject offers in which they will receive money but a planned charity donation will be reduced. In our prior work, more "costly helping" (i.e., rejecting the offered money and protecting the donation) was associated with lower callous unemotional traits. Here we extend that prior work in a larger sample of adolescent male patients with serious conduct problems and controls, and test whether this association is mediated specifically by a Moral Elevation response (i.e., a positive emotional response to another's act of virtue). METHODS: The adolescent male participants were: 45 patients (23 with LPE) and 26 controls, who underwent an extensive phenotypic assessment including a measure of Moral Elevation. About 1 week later participants played the AlAn's game. RESULTS: All AlAn's game outcomes demonstrated significant group effects: (1) money taken for self (p = 0.02); (2) money left in the charitable donation (p = 0.03); and, (3) costly helping (p = 0.047). Controls took the least money and did the most costly helping, while patients with LPE took the most money and did the least costly helping. Groups also significantly differed in post-stimulus Moral Elevation scores (p = 0.005). Exploratory analyses supported that the relationship between callous unemotional traits and costly helping on the AlAn's game may be mediated in part by differences in Moral Elevation. CONCLUSIONS: The AlAn's game provides a standardized behavioral measure associated with callous unemotional traits. Adolescents with high levels of callous unemotional traits engage in fewer costly helping behaviors, and those differences may be related to blunting of positive emotional responses. Language: en

High speed rolling (HSR) of 1000 m min−1 was employed to successfully roll AZ31 alloy in one pass with 65% reduction in thickness at 300 and 450°C. The rollability, texture and microstructure after HSR, in comparison with low speed rolling (15 m min−1), improved significantly. It is suggested that the double peak and weaker basal texture obtained after HSR are attributed to the activation of compression and double twins. After annealing, the double peak basal texture is replaced by a single peak one, which may be due to preferential grain growth of basal grains.

The purpose of this study was to examine if differences in social life histories correspond to intraspecific variation in total or regional brain volumes in the African lion (Panthera leo) and cougar (Puma concolor). African lions live in gregarious prides usually consisting of related adult females, their dependent offspring, and a coalition of immigrant males. Upon reaching maturity, male lions enter a nomadic and often, solitary phase in their lives, whereas females are mainly philopatric and highly social throughout their lives. In contrast, the social life history does not differ between male and female cougars; both are solitary. Three-dimensional virtual endocasts were created using computed tomography from the skulls of 14 adult African lions (8 male, 6 female) and 14 cougars (7 male, 7 female). Endocranial volume and basal skull length were highly correlated in African lions (r = 0.59, p < 0.05) and in cougars (r = 0.67, p < 0.01). Analyses of total endocranial volume relative to skull length revealed no sex differences in either African lions or cougars. However, relative anterior cerebrum volume comprised primarily of frontal cortex and surface area was significantly greater in female African lions than males, while relative posterior cerebrum volume and surface area was greater in males than females. These differences were specific to the neocortex and were not found in the solitary cougar, suggesting that social life history is linked to sex-specific neocortical patterns in these species. We further hypothesize that increased frontal cortical volume in female lions is related to the need for greater inhibitory control in the presence of a dominant male aggressor.

A color image sensor with three stacked organic photoconductive films (OPFs) and transparent readout circuits for a high-resolution, high-sensitivity, compact color video camera is described. The sensor separates and simultaneously detects the three primary colors. We fabricated test image sensors and confirmed the feasibility of the color video camera with three stacked OPFs.

a b s t r a c t Boys with serious conduct and substance problems (Antisocial Substance Dependence (ASD)) repeat- edly make impulsive and risky decisions in spite of possible negative consequences. Because prefrontal cortex (PFC) is involved in planning behavior in accord with prior rewards and punishments, structural abnormalities in PFC could contribute to a person's propensity to make risky decisions. Methods: We acquired high-resolution structural images of 25 male ASD patients (ages 14-18 years) and 19 controls of similar ages using a 3 T MR system. We conducted whole-brain voxel-based morphome- tric analysis (p < 0.05, corrected for multiple comparisons at whole-brain cluster-level) using Statistical Parametric Mapping version-5 and tested group differences in regional gray matter (GM) volume with analyses of covariance, adjusting for total GM volume, age, and IQ; we further adjusted between-group analyses for ADHD and depression. As secondary analyses, we tested for negative associations between GM volume and impulsivity within groups and separately, GM volume and symptom severity within patients using whole-brain regression analyses. Results: ASD boys had significantly lower GM volume than controls in left dorsolateral PFC (DLPFC), right lingual gyrus and bilateral cerebellum, and significantly higher GM volume in right precuneus. Left DLPFC GM volume showed negative association with impulsivity within controls and negative association with substance dependence severity within patients. Conclusions: ASD boys show reduced GM volumes in several regions including DLPFC, a region highly rele- vant to impulsivity, disinhibition, and decision-making, and cerebellum, a region important for behavioral regulation, while they showed increased GM in precuneus, a region associated with self-referential and self-centered thinking. © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Satoshi Kawamura1, Chihaya Maesawa2, Koji Nakamura1, Kazuhiko Nakayama1, Michiaki Morita1, Yohei Hiruma1, Tomoyuki Yoshida3, Akio Sakai3, Tomoyuki Masuda41Department of Psychiatry, Tokyo Jikei University school of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan; 2Department of Tumor Biology, Division of Bioscience, center for Advanced Medical science, Iwate Medical University school of Medicine, Morioka, Japan; 3Department of Neuropsychiatry, Iwate Medical University school of Medicine, Morioka, Japan; 4Department of Pathology, Iwate Medical University school of Medicine, Morioka, JapanAbstract: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common lifestyle-related endocrinopathy in women of reproductive age and is associated with several mental health problems. We examined the genotypic distributions of IRS-1 Gly972Arg and CYP11B2 -344T/C, which were previously described as influencing PCOS, and assayed the serum levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), in a set of female patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) with comorbid major depressive disorder (MDD) (n = 50) and age-matched control subjects (n = 100), to investigate the predisposition for BPD with MDD. The results showed that the patients were more frequently IRS-1 972Arg variant allele carriers (P = 0.013; OR 6.68; 95% CI = 1.30-34.43) and homozygous for the CYP11B2 -344C variant allele (P = 0.022; OR = 3.32; 95% CI = 1.18-9.35) than the control subjects. The IL-6 level was significantly higher in the patients than in the controls (P < 0.0001). There was no significant difference in the serum TNF-α level between patients with BPD with MDD and the healthy comparison group (P = 0.5273). In conclusion, the predisposition for BPD with MDD is associated with that for PCOS, in the female Japanese population. An elevated serum IL-6 level is considered to be a possible biomarker of BPD with MDD.Keywords: borderline personality disorder, depression, polycystic ovary syndrome, genetic polymorphism, insulin resistance

There is an increasing need to restore natural hardwood forests in landscapes dominated by monocultural conifer plantations. A convenient restoration approach is to exploit natural regeneration processes. Natural regeneration, however, is affected by diverse interacting factors, for which better understanding is required, in order to optimize restoration programs. To identify optimal management practices for improving natural regeneration of hardwood trees in coniferous plantations, we examined the effects of multiple factors on the abundance of seedlings, small saplings and large saplings (height

We have a plan to build an imaging beam line, Energy-Resolved Neutron Imaging System (ERNIS), at Materials and Life Science Experimental Facility (MLF) at Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC). In pulsed neutron imaging, we use characteristic features of the neutron total cross section, depending on the neutron wavelength, to get sample information such as crystallographic structure and nuclide composition. One of the most important items to be determined for a beam line at J-PARC is the choice of moderator among coupled, decoupled, and poisoned moderators. From the wavelength resolution point of view, we decided to use the decoupled moderator, which could cover major experiments performed at a pulsed neutron source. Here, we discuss the structure of the imaging beam line at beam line 22 of the J-PARC neutron source as well as the arrangement of insertion devices and the experimental area.

Reliable brain volume measurements are crucial in identifying factors that influence the course of brain evolution. Here, we demonstrate the potential for using virtual endocasts (VEs) to examine inter- and intraspecific variation in brain volume in members of the family Hyaenidae. Total endocranial volume (adjusted for body size) and anterior cerebrum volume (adjusted for endocranial volume) were greater in the spotted hyena, the most gregarious of the species, than in the other hyaenids, all of which are less gregarious. An intraspecific analysis of spotted hyenas revealed that anterior cerebrum volume is significantly larger in males than females, although total endocranial volume does not differ between the sexes. Greater total endocranial and anterior cerebrum volume of spotted hyenas, relative to those of other hyena species, may be related to increased neural processing mediating cognitive demands associated with a complex social life. These data demonstrate that computed tomographic (CT) technology can be used to create VEs in species for which actual brains are rare or unavailable, and suggest that this approach can be applied systematically to explore intra- and interspecies brain variations in studies of brain evolution.

The social brain hypothesis posits that the demands of living in complex social groups require increased neural processing, and that this underlies the expansion of brain areas involved in mediation of complex social behavior. However, much of the support for the social brain hypothesis is derived from comparative studies in primates. If large brains evolved as a result of selection pressures imposed by life within complex societies, as the social brain hypothesis predicts, then gregarious nonprimate species should possess large brains and exhibit comparable expansion of brain areas mediating social behavior. Our purpose here was to test a prediction of the social brain hypothesis – that increased brain size is related to social complexity – by examining species in the carnivore family Hyaenidae. Hyaenidae contains 4 extant species that span a spectrum of social complexity: the aardwolf (Proteles cristata) is solitary during the nonbreeding season, and forms monogamous pairs during the breeding season; the striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena) lives solitarily or in small groups; the brown hyena (Parahyaena brunnea) lives in groups of up to 14 individuals; and the spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta) lives in complex hierarchically organized groups containing up to 90 animals. Computed tomography was used to create three-dimensional endocasts based on serial analysis of coronal sections of the adult endocranium. The largest brain volume, relative to body size, is found in the spotted hyena. We found no significant variation in relative brain volume among striped hyenas, brown hyenas, and aardwolves. The spotted hyena also possesses a larger anterior cerebrum volume relative to total brain volume than is found in the other hyena species; this region is composed primarily of frontal cortex. These data are consistent with the idea that expansion of the frontal cortex is driven by the demands of processing cognitive information associated with complex social lives, but other factors may drive the evolution of large brains in hyaenids.

We have searched for an optimum condition to form a specific defect center called NY-N (nitrogen-vacancy-nitrogen) in a diamond, which is of interest, because of the possibility of a NOT system in a quantum computer. It is composed of one NV center made of a substitutional nitrogen (N) coupled with an adjacent vacancy (V) and an associated N atom. The second N is located at a mean distance (RN-N) of ~ 2 nm. Considering the cohesive potentials we performed an empirical molecular dynamic simulation for the low-energy N2 beam implantation into a diamond. The identification of a NV center was performed by a crystallographic analysis called the pixel-mapping (PM) method based on crystallography. We found that impact energy Eo could be decisive for the mean distance RN.N, while temperature T was decisive for the formation ofNY centers. The optimum set of conditions to form an NV-N center is a compromising choice of (Eo, T). The formation probability of the NY center exceeded 20 % when using (Eo, T) = (200 (eV/atom), 1000 K), however, the mean value was below 1.5 nm. A 1ittle higher energy than 200 (eV/atom) will be necessary for ideal NV-N centers.

New monolithic scintillation detectors for PET have been developed, where the crystals are processed using internal focused laser processing technique, which is called subsurface laser engraving (SSLE) technique. When high intensity light pulses of short duration from a laser are focused into a scintillation crystal, they induce multi-photon absorption at the focal point and result in refractive index changes or micro-cracks inside the crystal. By applying the SSLE technique to a monolithic scintillation block, fine segmentation in the crystal can be formed without inter-pixel gaps. We have fabricated 2D segmented arrays engraved various patterns of micro-cracks inside monolithic LYSO crystal blocks by using a Nd:YAG laser. The processed crystal array segmented to 12 × 12 with 1.67 mm pitch have been evaluated by coupling to a position-sensitive photomultiplier tube (PS-PMT). The 2D position histograms were measured for uniform irradiation of gamma-rays and each crystal segment was clearly separated. The average energy resolution was 9.7%, similar to that of the conventional arrays, so that the laser processed LYSO crystals have kept their primary scintillation properties. We have also evaluated the laser processed crystals by using multi-pixel photon counters (MPPCs) to investigate the possibilities as a future PET detector. These results suggest that it is possible to fabricate high performance PET detectors using the SSLE technique.

Conduct disorder is a serious, relatively common disorder of childhood and adolescence. Findings from genetic association studies searching for genetic determinants of the liability toward such behaviors have been inconsistent. One possible explanation for differential results is that most studies define phenotype from a single assessment; for many adolescents conduct problems decrease in severity over time, whereas for others such behaviors persist. Therefore, longitudinal datasets offer the opportunity to refine phenotype.We used Caucasians that were first assessed during adolescence from the National Youth Survey Family Study. Nine waves of data were used to create latent growth trajectories and test for associations between trajectory class and 5HTTLPR genotype.For the full sample, 5HTTLPR was not associated with conduct problem phenotypes. However, the short (s) allele was associated with chronic conduct problems in females; a nominally significant sex by 5HTTLPR genotype interaction was noted.Longitudinal studies provide unique opportunities for phenotypic refinement and such techniques, with large samples, may be useful for phenotypic definition with other study designs, such as whole genome association studies.

The rise of ecological awareness among consumers and industry has impacted the cationic surfactants market. The most used cationic surfactants present some drawbacks in this sense. Therefore, new molecules are being studied and developed which fulfil eco-toxicological requirements without losing performance. One of these surfactants is Behenamidopropyl Dimethylamine (BAPDMA). This biodegradable amidoamine, which converts into a cationic surfactant at acidic pH, shows outstanding water solubility, despite its very long alkyl chain. Its behaviour in solution has been exhaustively studied. The conditioning performance of this product is superior to that of commonly used cationic surfactants, providing a superior sensorial profile and improved combing force reductions on hair. Moreover, other applications for this product in the non-ionic form have been studied, such as conditioning agent in 2 in 1 shampoos, where it also shows colour protection effects, and as gelling agent in hair colouration creams. This multifunctional and high performance profile, together with an improved biodegradation and aquatic toxicity compared with currently used cationic surfactants, make this product a very interesting eco-friendly alternative for the hair care market.

The purpose of this study was to examine developmental and individual variation in total endocranial volume and regional brain volumes, including the anterior cerebrum, posterior cerebrum and cerebellum/brain stem, in the spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta). The spotted hyena is a highly gregarious animal noted for living in large, hierarchically organized groups. The social lives of male and female spotted hyenas do not differ until after puberty, when males disperse from the natal group, while females remain philopatric. Here we sought to determine whether the divergent life histories of male and female spotted hyenas are linked to differences in brain size or organization. Three-dimensional virtual endocasts were created using computed tomography from 46 spotted hyenas skulls (23 females, 22 males, 1 unknown sex) ranging in age from 1 day to 18 years. Brain volume and skull length were highly correlated (r = 0.91), and both reached asymptotic values by 34 months of age. Analyses of total endocranial volume (relative to skull length) and cerebellum/brain stem volume (relative to total endocranial volume) revealed no sex differences. However, relative anterior cerebrum volume, comprised mainly of frontal cortex, was significantly greater in adult males than adult females, and relative posterior cerebrum volume was greater in adult females than adult males. We hypothesize that the demands of neural processing underlying enhanced social cognition required for successful male transfer between matriarchical social groups at dispersal may be greater than cognitive demands on philopatric females.

Driving safety support is one of the most attractive applications of an intervehicle communications system. Real-time and reliable packet exchange among vehicles is key to offering timely warnings to drivers in order to avoid fatal accidents. In this article we introduce multicarrier multicode spread Aloha (MM-SA) system, an intervehicle communications system developed to satisfy challenging requirements for supporting driving safety. MM-SA is based on code-division multiple access technology, and has inherent robustness to the increase of node density as well as the hidden terminal problem. We present an overview of MM-SA system including protocol design and prototyping as well as the GUI tool, which are all developed for avoiding intersection collisions. We also present performance comparison between the MM-SA system and a CSMA-based system under a realistic accident scenario. Our evaluation results show that the MM-SA system has superior performance to the CSMA-based system, and achieves the communication performance required for driving safety support.

Effect of texture anisotropy of Mg alloy AZ31, processed by multidirectional forging, on low temperature superplasticity was studied in tension at 423 and 473 K. Multidirectional forging was carried out up to large cumulative strain of 4·8 with changing loading direction from pass to pass under decreasing temperature conditions. When the basal plane in initial texture is inclined at ∼45° against tensile direction, rotation of basal plane towards tensile direction takes place accompanying with basal slip and grain coarsening or refinement, leading to the highest elongation to failure of 320%. This suggests that superplastic deformation can be controlled by grain boundary sliding accompanied with grain size changes taking place due to continuous dynamic recrystallisation.

Recent neurophysiological studies indicate a role for reticulospinal neurons of the pontomedullary reticular formation (PMRF) in motor preparation and goal-directed reaching in the monkey. Although the macaque monkey is an important model for such investigations, little is known regarding the organization of the PMRF in the monkey. In the present study, we investigated the distribution of reticulospinal neurons in the macaque. Bilateral injections of wheat germ agglutinin conjugated to horseradish peroxidase (WGA-HRP) were made into the cervical spinal cord. A wide band of retrogradely labeled cells was found in the gigantocellular reticular nucleus (Gi) and labeled cells continued rostrally into the caudal pontine reticular nucleus (PnC) and into the oral pontine reticular nucleus (PnO). Additional retrograde tracing studies following unilateral cervical spinal cord injections of cholera toxin subunit B revealed that there were more ipsilateral (60%) than contralateral (40%) projecting cells in Gi, while an approximately 50:50 ratio contralateral to ipsilateral split was found in PnC and more contralateral projections arose from PnO. Reticulospinal neurons in PMRF ranged widely in size from over 50 microm to under 25 microm across the major somatic axis. Labeled giant cells (soma diameters greater than 50 microm) comprised a small percentage of the neurons and were found in Gi, PnC and PnO. The present results define the origins of the reticulospinal system in the monkey and provide an important foundation for future investigations of the anatomy and physiology of this system in primates.

Chronic GVHD (cGVHD) of the liver is an important cause of morbidity and mortality after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT). It is characterized by the destruction of bile duct epithelium followed by progressive cholestasis, which resembles primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) clinically and histologically. Bezafibrate (BF) is a widely used agent for hyperlipidemia that is also effective in ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA)-resistant PBC patients. The putative mechanism in cholestasis is that BF upregulates the expression of phosphatidylcholine flippase on bile canaliculi, facilitates phospholipid output into bile and relieves bile duct damage caused by hydrophobic bile salts. Therefore, the effects of BF in patients with cGVHD of the liver were investigated. Of 87 patients with cGVHD who survived more than 100 days after SCT, 8 were given BF to treat liver cGVHD because of a poor therapeutic response to UDCA and immunosuppressants. The serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (gamma-GTP) levels decreased significantly within 1 month after initiation of BF therapy compared with those before BF therapy in all patients (ALP, 964.9.0+/-306.9 to 597.8+/-102.5 IU/l, P=0.012; gamma-GTP, 528.8+/-299.0 to 269.0+/-119.9 IU/l, P=0.012). BF was effective in patients with liver cGVHD, including UDCA-resistant patients. BF could be a novel therapeutic option for liver cGVHD that helps to preserve normal immunity with the antileukemic effect of cGVHD.

A spectral tau-method is proposed for solving vector field equations defined in polar coordinates. The method employs one-sided Jacobi polynomials as radial expansion functions and Fourier exponentials as azimuthal expansion functions. All the regularity requirements of the vector field at the origin and the physical boundary conditions at a circumferential boundary are exactly satisfied by adjusting the additional tau-coefficients of the radial expansion polynomials of the highest order. The proposed method is applied to linear and nonlinear-dispersive time evolution equations of hyperbolic-type describing internal Kelvin and Poincare waves in a shallow, stratified lake on a rotating plane.

Summary Background The benefits of prolonging peginterferon and ribavirin after 48 weeks of treatment to maximize sustained virological responses (SVR) in hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1-infected patients remain to be understood. Aim To investigate whether extended treatment longer than 72 weeks may be superior to 72-week treatment. Methods A total of 120 treatment-naive or retreated patients with HCV genotype 1 were treated with peginterferon-alpha-2b (1.5 μg/kg/week) plus weight-based ribavirin. We had 34 late responders, in whom HCV RNA first became undetectable at week 12–48, and randomized them into three groups receiving standard-dose peginterferon-alpha-2b plus low-dose ribavirin (200 mg/day) for extended 24 weeks (group A), receiving low-dose peginterferon-alpha-2b (0.75 μg/kg/week) plus low-dose ribavirin for extended 48 weeks (group B) or no extended treatment (group C), and evaluated the outcome according to their virological response. Results Multivariate analysis showed that the treatment for 96 weeks was identified as a significant, independent factor associated with SVR in HCV genotype 1-infected late responders in comparison with group A [odds ratio (OR), 10.002; P = 0.080] and group C (OR, 17.748; P = 0.025). Conclusion Extending the treatment duration from 48 weeks to 96 weeks improves SVR rates in genotype 1-infected patients with late virological response to peginterferon-alpha-2b and ribavirin.

A new structure and a fabrication process for multi-material THz-SIS mixers are proposed. In this design, both the micrometer-sized SIS trilayers (MTLs: microtrilayers) and the ground plane are deposited directly onto the substrate. This structure is expected to possess a number of unique features, e.g., (1) the quality of the SIS junction is not affected by the physical nature of the ground plane film; (2) the heat can escape directly from the junction into the substrate. The influence of the MTL-structure on the junction quality and circuit characteristics have been investigated. Numerical calculation suggests that the extra rf loss around the junction can be kept small if the offset between the junction and the ground plane is less than 1 mum. MTL-SIS mixers have been fabricated using Nb/Al-AlN(or Al-AlOx)/Nb SIS junctions and NbTiN/Al microstrip lines. The leakage current of the SIS junction can be made as small as that of the best all-Nb devices. The MTL-SIS structure will be useful in the development of future THz SIS mixers. The abstract goes here.

Research on polymer-layered silicate nanocomposites is currently an expanding field of study because they exhibit a wide range of improved properties over their unmodified starting polymers. Polyamide 6 (PA6)/organoclay nanocomposites have been prepared by exfoliating the organoclay montmorillonite via melt mixing. The exfoliation within the nanocomposites has been monitored using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Water absorption of PA6 nanocomposites and its mechanical performance when saturated with water at temperatures rang- ing from 40 to 60°C were investigated. It was found that the organoclay up to 8 wt% was completely exfoliated and well distributed within PA6 matrix as observed by TEM and XRD analysis. Addition of organoclay did not affect the crystallinity of PA6, and better mechanical perform- ances were obtained. It was found that the barrier properties of the neat PA6 exhibited both higher diffusion coefficient and higher maximum water uptake as compared to the filled polymer. For all investigated temperatures the diffusion coefficient was found to decrease as function of organoclay loading. However, the maximum uptake was found to increase without reaching that of neat PA6. A relationship between temperature and diffusion coefficient was also established.

The dynamic recrystallization(DRX) and texture development, taking place during hot deformation of magnesium alloy AZ31 with a strong wire texture, were studied in compression at 673 K (0.73 Tm). Two kinds of samples were machined parallelly to the extruded and transverse directions of Mg alloy rods. New fine grains are evolved at original grain boundaries corrugated at low strains and develop rapidly in the medium range of strain, finally leading to a roughly full evolution of equiaxial fine grains. Kink bands are evolved at grain boundaries corrugated and also frequently in grain interiors at low strains. The boundary misorientations of kink band increase rapidly with increasing strain and approach a saturation value in high strain. The average size of the regions fragmented by kink band is almost the same as that of new grains evolved in high strain. These characteristics of new grain evolution process are not changed by the orientation of the samples, while the flow behaviors clearly depend on it. It is concluded that new grain evolution can be controlled by a deformation-induced continuous reaction, i.e. continuous dynamic recrystallization(DRX). The latter is discussed by comparing with conventional, i.e. discontinuous DRX.

Relativistic neutrons were observed by the neutron monitors at Mt. Chacaltaya and Mexico City and by the solar neutron telescopes at Chacaltaya and Mt. Sierra Negra in association with an X17.0 flare on 2005 September 7. The neutron signal continued for more than 20 min with high statistical significance. Intense emissions of γ -rays were also registered by INTEGRAL , and during the decay phase by RHESSI . We analyzed these data using the solar-flare magnetic-loop transport and interaction model of Hua et al. [Hua, X.-M., Kozlovsky, B., Lingenfelter, R.E. et al. Angular and energy-dependent neutron emission from solar flare magnetic loops, Astrophys. J. Suppl. Ser. 140, 563–579, 2002], and found that the model could successfully fit the data with intermediate values of loop magnetic convergence and pitch-angle scattering parameters. These results indicate that solar neutrons were produced at the same time as the γ -ray line emission and that ions were continuously accelerated at the emission site.

The ability to break open large bones has evolved independently in only three groups of carnivorous mammals, all of which have robust teeth, vaulted foreheads, and pronounced sagittal crests. One unusual skull feature, present in bone-cracking members of the family Hyaenidae, is a caudally elongated frontal sinus, hypothesized to function in resistance to bending and stress dissipation during bone-cracking. In the present study, we used finite element (FE) analysis to examine patterns of stress distribution in the spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta) skull during unilateral biting, and inquire about the functional role of the fronto-parietal sinus in stress dissipation. We constructed and compared three FE models: (1) a ‘normal’ model of an adult Crocuta skull; (2) a model in which the caudal portion of the fronto-parietal sinus was filled with bone; and (3) a model in which we flattened the sagittal crest to resemble the plate-like crests of other mammals. During biting, an arc of stress extends from the bite point up through the vaulted forehead and along the sagittal crest. Our results suggest that pneumatization of the hyena's skull both enhances its ability to resist bending and, together with the vaulted forehead, plays a critical role in evenly dissipating stress away from the facial region. © 2008 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2008, 95, 246–255.

A bulky Cu - Zn alloy was multi-directionally forged (MDFed) at 77 K and 300 K up to a cumulative strain of 6.0 at maximum. With increasing strain, the evolved substructure changed gradually to uniform ultra fine grains. The tendency of the microstructural evolution and its mechanism depended strongly on the MDF temperature. Mechanical twins accelerated the finer grain fragmentation by subdivision of the grains and by intersection of the twins themselves due to MDF. Twinning appeared more frequently and uniformly at 77 K than at 300 K. The average grain size obtained at a cumulative strain of 6.0 was about 17 nm at 77 K and 26 nm at 300 K. The evolution of the microstructure accompanied by mechanical twinning is precisely investigated.

A carbon steel containing dispersed fine voids, with diameters in the range of 3–5 μm, was deformed in compression at temperatures between 1063 K and 1153 K and at true strain rates from 4.2 × 10 −5 s −1 to 4.2 × 10 −3 s −1 . The deformation behavior did not differ much from that of a carbon steel without voids. The maximum stress and the corresponding maximum strain increased in the presence of a dispersion of voids, and, as a consequence the occurrence of dynamic recrystallization (DRX) was also slightly delayed. Furthermore, the yield stress and the steady-state stress increased by about 10%. The shape and distribution of voids changed depending upon strain, strain rate and temperature. With decreasing strain rate and increasing temperature, the aspect ratio of the voids decreased. These observed effect of voids on high temperature deformation behavior and the void shape change during deformation are discussed in relation with such mechanisms as DRX, grain boundary migration, grain boundary sliding and relaxation.

An SUS316L stainless steel separator was coated with amorphous carbon by using an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma sputtering technique, and used in a polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC). Characteristics of this carbon film were investigated with Raman spectroscopy and XPS. Quantitative depth profiles and chemical depth profiles of the deposited carbon layer were measured with GD-OES and XPS, respectively. The contact resistivity between a carbon paper and the carbon coated SUS316L steel was also measured. The performance of PEFC single cells assembled with carbon coated SUS316L separators, uncoated SUS316L separators, and conventional carbon separators were compared. The results revealed that an assembled PEFC having carbon coated SUS316L separators provided better performance than one having uncoated SUS316L, and the PEFC showed comparable performance to one having conventional carbon separators.

Although the causal agent of yellows of Brassica rapa (turnip, pak choi, and narinosa) in Japan was reported in 1996 to be Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. conglutinans, this classification has remained inconclusive because of a lack of detailed genetic and pathogenic studies. Therefore, we analyzed the taxonomic position of this organism using Japanese isolates of F. oxysporum complex obtained from diseased individuals of various B. rapa subspecies. Phylogenetic analyses using partial sequences of the rDNA intergenic spacer region and the mating-type gene (MAT1-1-1α-box) showed that B. rapa and cabbage isolates belong to different monophyletic clades that separated at early evolutionary stages. Additionally, correlations were observed between the molecular phylogeny and the vegetative compatibility groups. Isolates from turnip, komatsuna, and narinosa (B. rapa group) did not show pathogenicity against cabbage or broccoli (B. oleracea group), although they caused severe symptoms on their original host species. In contrast, cabbage isolates had significantly higher (P = 0.05) virulence on B. oleracea than on B. rapa crops. Our results indicate that F. oxysporum complex isolates from B. rapa and B. oleracea are not only phylogenetically distinct but also differ in host specificity. Therefore, we propose a novel forma specialis, F. oxysporum f. sp. rapae, which causes yellows on B. rapa, including turnip, komatsuna, pak choi, and narinosa.