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The new molecular image obtained by NANTEN telescope in the galactic center has revealed the existence of the two loop like structures, loop 1 and loop 2, which have never been seen before toward l = 355° to 358°. The velocities of loop 1 and loop 2 are −180 to −90 km s−1 and −90 and −40 km s−1, respectively, and these two loops have strong velocity gradients. The foot points of the loops show a very broad linewidth of ~40 to 80 km s−1 whose large velocity spans are characteristic of the molecular gas near the galactic center. Therefore, we classified the loops as being located in the galactic center and adopt a distance of 8.5 kpc. Then, the projected lengths of loop 1 and loop 2 were estimated as ~500 and ~300 pc, respectively and velocity gradients corresponds to ~80 km s−1 per 250 pc along loop 1 and ~60 km s−1 per 150 pc along loop 2. The heights of these loops are also estimated as ~220 to ~300 pc from the galactic plane, significantly higher than the typical scale height in the nuclear disk. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Presents an abstract of the study 'Resting and Acetazolamide-challenged Technetium-99m-ECD SPECT in Transient Global Amnesia,' by R. Takeuchi, Y. Yonekura, H. Matsuda, Y. Nishimura, H. Tanaka, H. Ohta, H. Sakahara and J. Konishi, published in the 1998 issue of the 'Journal of Nuclear Medicine.'

We have performed a molecular line search towards the flaring 6.7-GHz masers G 24.33+0.13, and G 359.6−0.24 using the Australia Telescope Compact Array. We present spectra of the 6.7-GHz class II methanol and 22.2-GHz water masers towards these sources and provide a comparison with other recent flaring events these sources have experienced. We also detect the fourth example of a 23.4-GHz class I methanol maser and the 11th example of a 4.8-GHz formaldehyde maser towards G 24.33+0.13. Alongside these results, we also observe the previously detected ammonia (3,3) emission and report upper limits on the presence of various other cm-wavelength methanol, ammonia, and OH transitions. Our results are consistent with the flaring of G 24.33+0.13 being driven by a variable accretion rate in the host high mass young stellar object. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report a new analysis protocol for HCN hyperfine data, based on the PYSPECKIT package, and results of using this new protocol to analyse a sample area of seven massive molecular clumps from the Census of High- and Medium-mass Protostars (CHaMP) survey, in order to derive maps of column density for this species. There is a strong correlation between the HCN integrated intensity, IHCN, and previously reported IHCO+ in the clumps, but IN2H+ is not well correlated with either of these other two 'dense gas tracers'. The four fitted parameters from PYSPECKIT in this region fall in the range of VLSR = 8-10 km s-1, σV = 1.2-2.2 km s-1, Tex = 4-15 K, and τ = 0.2-2.5. These parameters allow us to derive a column density map of these clouds, without limiting assumptions about the excitation or opacity. A more traditional (linear) method of converting IHCN to total mass column gives much lower clump masses than our results based on the hyperfine analysis. This is primarily due to areas in the sample region of low I, low Tex, and high τ .We conclude that there may be more dense gas in these massive clumps not engaged in massive star formation than previously recognized. If this result holds for other clouds in the CHaMP sample, it would have dramatic consequences for the calibration of the Kennicutt-Schmidt star formation laws, including a large increase in the gas depletion time-scale in such regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have made new CO observations of two molecular clouds, which we call “jet” and “arc” clouds, toward the stellar cluster Westerlund 2 and the TeV γ-ray source HESS J1023–575. The jet cloud shows a linear structure from the position of Westerlund 2 on the east. In addition, we have found a new counter jet cloud on the west. The arc cloud shows a crescent shape in the west of HESS J1023–575. A sign of star formation is found at the edge of the jet cloud and gives a constraint on the age of the jet cloud to be ∼Myr. An analysis with the multi CO transitions gives temperature as high as 20 K in a few places of the jet cloud, suggesting that some additional heating may be operating locally. The new TeV γ-ray images by H.E.S.S. correspond to the jet and arc clouds spatially better than the giant molecular clouds associated with Westerlund 2. We suggest that the jet and arc clouds are not physically linked with Westerlund 2 but are located at a greater distance around 7.5 kpc. A microquasar with long-term activity may be able to offer a possible engine to form the jet and arc clouds and to produce the TeV γ-rays, although none of the known microquasars have a Myr age or steady TeV γ-rays. Alternatively, an anisotropic supernova explosion which occurred ∼Myr ago may be able to form the jet and arc clouds, whereas the TeV γ-ray emission requires a microquasar formed after the explosion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: We evaluated the neuroprotective effect of chronically or acutely administered lithium against hypoxia in several brain regions. Furthermore, we investigated the contribution of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), nerve growth factor (NGF), and cAMP response element binding protein (CREB) to the neuroprotective effect of lithium. Methods: Brain slices were prepared from rats that had been treated chronically or acutely with lithium. The cerebral glucose metabolic rate (CMRglc) before and after hypoxia loading to brain slices was measured using the dynamic positron autoradiography technique with [18F]2-fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose. The changes of expression of proteins were investigated using Western blot analysis. Results: Before hypoxia loading, the CMRglc did not differ between the lithium-treated and untreated groups. After hypoxia loading, the CMRglc of the untreated group was significantly lower than that before hypoxia loading. However, the CMRglc of the chronic lithium treatment group recovered in the frontal cortex, caudate putamen, hippocampus and cerebellum, but not in the thalamus. In contrast, the CMRglc of the acute lithium treatment group did not recover in any analyzed brain regions. After chronic lithium treatment, the levels of expression of BDNF and phospho-CREB were higher than those of untreated rats in the frontal cortex, but not in the thalamus. However, the expression of NGF did not change in the frontal cortex and thalamus. Conclusions: These results demonstrated that lithium was neuroprotective against hypoxia only after chronic treatment and only in specific brain regions, and that CREB and BDNF might contribute to this effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore the aetiology of pathological laughing, a 65-year-old woman with pathological laughing was examined by 3-T functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) before and after treatment with drugs. Here, we report that the patient consistently showed exaggerated pontine activation during the performance of three tasks before treatment, whereas abnormal pontine activation was no longer found after successful treatment with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, paroxetine. Our findings in this first fMRI study of pathological laughing suggest that serotonergic replacement decreases the aberrant activity in a circuit that involves the pons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: VHF excited plasma is produced with a ladder-shaped electrode and the plasma parameters are measured with a heated Langmuir probe. When the discharge frequency (∼100 MHz) of the RF power source is increased, the plasma density increases while the electron temperature decreases. Plasma uniformity less than 15% over 1.2 m×1.5 m is realized by employing the phase modulation method, that is, the pattern of the standing wave on the electrode can be controlled by changing the phase of the RF power. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A VHF plasma for a large-area a-Si:H films deposition has been produced using the ladder-shaped electrode and the phase modulation method. These techniques enable to average the voltage distribution along the electrode by a high-speed scanning of the voltage standing wave. The effects of these techniques are demonstrated on the a-Si:H films deposition using 1.4 m×1.1 m substrates and on the self-cleaning using NF3 plasmas. The spatial irregularity of the deposition rate is about ±15% and the self-cleaning rate is 5 nm/s. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We examined the induction of hypoxic tolerance after hypoxic preconditioning in the frontal cortex, caudate putamen and thalamus using the dynamic positron autoradiography technique and [18F]2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose with rat brain slices. Hypoxic tolerance induction was confirmed in the frontal cortex, but not in the caudate putamen and thalamus. Next, we compared the gene expression in the frontal cortex and caudate putamen using the ATLAS Rat Stress Array, and found that the expression of 150-kDa oxygen-regulated protein and mitochondrial heat shock protein 70 as stress proteins, and copper-zinc-containing superoxide dismutase and manganese-containing superoxide dismutase as antioxidant enzymes was elevated only in the frontal cortex. These results suggest that the induction of hypoxic tolerance after hypoxic preconditioning is region-specific, and stress proteins and antioxidant enzymes participate in this phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A micro-X-ray diffraction (micro-XRD) technique has been employed to determine the phases in two superelastic nickel–titanium orthodontic wires that exhibit shape memory in the oral environment and one superelastic nickel–titanium wire that does not exhibit shape memory in vivo. The micro-XRD analyses were performed over the clinically relevant temperature range of 0–55°C, which corresponds to the ingestion of cold and hot liquids, and both straight and bent (135°) test samples were analyzed. The results showed that for straight (as-received) test samples, the rhombohedral phase (R-phase) was definitely present in one shape memory wire product and perhaps in the other shape memory wire product, but was apparently absent in the superelastic wire product that did not display shape memory. Martensite was observed in all three wire products after bending. Phase transformations occurred with temperature changes simulating the oral environment for straight test samples of the two shape memory wires, but the micro-XRD pattern changed minimally with temperature for straight test samples of the superelastic wire and for bent test samples of all three wire products. The phase transformations revealed by micro-XRD were consistent with results recently found by temperature-modulated differential scanning calorimetry. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The amygdala is related to recognition of faces and emotions, and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have reported that the amygdala is habituated over time with repetition of facial stimuli. When subjects are presented repeatedly with unfamiliar faces, they come to gradually recognize the unfamiliar faces as familiar. To investigate the brain areas participating in the acquisition of familiarity to repeatedly presented unfamiliar faces, we conducted an fMRI study in 16 healthy subjects. During the task periods, the subjects were instructed to see presented unfamiliar faces repeatedly and to judge whether the face was male or female or whether the face had emotional valences. The experiment consisted of nine sessions. To clarify the brain areas that showed increasing or decreasing activation as the experimental session proceeded, we analyzed the fMRI data using specified linear covariates in the face recognition task from the first session to the ninth session. Imaging data were investigated on a voxel-by-voxel basis for single-group analysis according to the random effect model using Statistical Parametric Mapping. The bilateral posterior cingulate cortices showed significant increases in activity as the experimental sessions proceeded, while the activation in the right amygdala and the left medial fusiform gyrus decreased. Thus, the posterior cingulate cortex may play an important role in the acquisition of facial familiarity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Human lesion or neuroimaging studies suggest that amygdala is involved in facial emotion recognition. Although impairments in recognition of facial and/or emotional expression have been reported in schizophrenia, there are few neuroimaging studies that have examined differential brain activation during facial recognition between patients with schizophrenia and normal controls. To investigate amygdala responses during facial recognition in schizophrenia, we conducted a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study with 12 right-handed medicated patients with schizophrenia and 12 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. The experiment task was a type of emotional intensity judgment task. During the task period, subjects were asked to view happy (or angry/disgusting/sad) and neutral faces simultaneously presented every 3 s and to judge which face was more emotional (positive or negative face discrimination). Imaging data were investigated in voxel-by-voxel basis for single-group analysis and for between-group analysis according to the random effect model using Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM). No significant difference in task accuracy was found between the schizophrenic and control groups. Positive face discrimination activated the bilateral amygdalae of both controls and schizophrenics, with more prominent activation of the right amygdala shown in the schizophrenic group. Negative face discrimination activated the bilateral amygdalae in the schizophrenic group whereas the right amygdala alone in the control group, although no significant group difference was found. Exaggerated amygdala activation during emotional intensity judgment found in the schizophrenic patients may reflect impaired gating of sensory input containing emotion. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Unlabelled: Two preterm infants with extensive periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) were examined by [18F]-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) at the corrected ages of 18 and 34 days. They showed similar clinical courses including oculoclonic seizure, hypsarrhythmia and severe mental retardation, in addition, to spastic quadriplegia. FDG-PET study of these two infants with severe PVL disclosed poorly developed metabolic activity in the primary sensorimotor cortex, while the MRI images displayed only periventricular white matter lesions.Conclusions: Positron emission tomography may disclose cortical involvement in infants with severe periventricular leukomalacia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the global nurse shortage, identifying nurse work environments that allow nurses to continue working is a common concern worldwide. This study examined whether a better nurse work environment (1) is associated with reducing nurses' psychological distress; (2) reduces nurse resignations; (3) weakens the influence of psychological distress on their resignation through interaction effect; and (4) whether psychological distress increases nurse turnover. Multilevel logistic regression analyses were performed using data obtained in 2014 from 2,123 staff nurses from a prospective longitudinal survey project of Japanese hospitals. The nurse work environment was measured by the Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index (PES-NWI) consisting of five subscales and a composite, and psychological distress by K6. All the PES-NWI subscales and composite (ORs 0.679-0.834) were related to K6, significantly. Regarding nurse turnover, K6 had a consistent effect (ORs 1.834-1.937), and only subscale 2 of the PES-NWI had a direct effect (OR 0.754), but there was no effect due to the interaction term. That is, (1) and (4) were validated, (2) was partly validated, but (3) was not. As better work environment reduces K6 and a lower K6 decreases nurses' resignation, high-level hospital managers need to continue improving the nurse work environment.

The excessive intake of sodium (Na) and insufficient intake of potassium (K) are major concerns in the prevention of hypertension. Using low-Na/K seasonings (reducing 25% of the NaCl and adding K salt) may improve the dietary Na/K ratio and help prevent hypertension. To devise an intervention study using low-Na/K seasonings at a company cafeteria, we calculated the Na and K contents of the meals served at the cafeteria and estimated changes in the intakes when suitable low-Na/K seasonings were used. We also considered using milk as a good source of K. We used an ingredient list of a company cafeteria and calculated Na and K contents in each dish. The average amounts of NaCl and K per use were 5.04 g and 718 mg, respectively. Seasonings contributed 70.9% of the NaCl. With the use of low-Na/K seasonings, an estimated reduction in NaCl of 0.8 g/day and an estimated increase in K of 308 mg/day was achieved. With an additional serving (200 mL) of milk, NaCl was reduced by 0.57 g/day and K was increased by 610 mg/day, with an overall decrease in the dietary Na/K ratio from 3.20 to 2.40. The use of low-Na/K seasonings and dairy may improve the dietary Na/K ratio among cafeteria users and help prevent hypertension.

Background: Disaster survivors experience deterioration in lifestyles and an increase in constipation. After the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, some survivors were evacuated for a long term, even after moving to temporary housing and public reconstruction housing. However, annual changes in constipation and the association between lifestyles and constipation among the survivors are still unknown., Methods: Overall, 9,234 survivors aged 18 years or older participated in this 9-year follow-up survey after the disaster. Information about the prevalence of constipation and lifestyle factors (diet, physical activity, and mental health) was collected using a self-reported questionnaire. Their dietary intake was categorized into the following two dietary patterns: prudent (fish and shellfish, soybean products, vegetables, fruits, and dairy products) and meat (meat and eggs). Odds ratios for constipation according to lifestyle factors were calculated using a generalized linear mixed model., Results: In women, the prevalence of constipation was the highest at baseline (8.7%) and remained around 5% afterward. In both men and women, older age, poor mental health, and poor physical activity were significantly associated with higher odds ratios of constipation. Moreover, a lower frequency of meals and a lower prudent dietary score were significantly associated with women's constipation., Conclusion: The prevalence of constipation was the highest at baseline and remained around 5% in women. Lifestyle factors, such as poor mental health, physical inactivity, and low frequency of meals were associated with constipation. Our findings suggest continuous support for the survivors with constipation for medium- to long-term after disasters.

The direct observation of reactive intermediates is an important issue for organic synthesis. However, intermediates with an extreme instability are hard to be monitored by common spectroscopic methods such as FTIR. We have developed synthetic method utilizing flow microreactors, which enables a generation and reactions of unstable intermediates. Herein we report that, based on our flowmicro techniques, we developed an in-line analysis method for reactive intermediates in increments of milliseconds. We demonstrated the direct observation of the living and dead species of the anionic polymerization of alkyl methacrylates. The direct information of the living species enabled the anionic polymerization and copolymerization of oligo(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylates, which is the important but difficult reaction in the conventional method., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Background: It is unclear how different degrees of left-lateral tilt affect the volumes of the abdominal aorta and inferior vena cava (IVC) in pregnancy., Objective: To use magnetic resonance images to assess the volumes of the abdominal aorta and IVC in women with twin or singleton pregnancies in different degrees of left-lateral tilt., Design: Prospective cohort study., Setting: A single-centre university hospital., Patients: Women with singleton pregnancies (13) and twin pregnancies (13) at 32 to 38 weeks' gestation., Main Outcome Measures: Comparison of abdominal aortic and IVC volumes measured by MRI in women with singleton and twin pregnancies while in the supine or left-lateral tilt position at 15°, 30° and 45°., Results: Supine, the mean aortic and IVC volumes were not significantly different between the women with singleton and twin pregnancies. In a left-lateral tilt position of 15 o compared with supine, the mean IVC volume was not increased in either group (singletons: 6.3 ± 6.6 ml, 95% CI, -2.4 to 0.4; P  = 0.174; twins: 3.9 ± 2.4 ml, 95% CI, -2.6 to 0.4; P  = 0.138). At tilt angles of 30° or 45°, the mean IVC volume significantly increased (singletons 30°: 9.7 ± 5.8 ml, 95% CI, -6.1 to -2.7; P  < .001; singleton 45°:13.8 ± 5.0 ml, 95% CI, -11.3 to -5.7; P  < .001; twins 30°: 5.7 ± 2.1 ml, 95% CI, -4.0 to -1.4; P  < .001; twins 45°: 12.8 ± 9.4 ml, 95% CI, -17.2 to -2.6; P  = 0.003). Aortic volume was not significantly increased in either group at any of the examined tilt angles compared with the supine., Conclusion: IVC volume is significantly increased by 30° and 45° left-lateral tilt positions compared with supine in women with singleton and twin pregnancies., Trial Registration: This study was registered in the University Hospital Medical Information Network (UMIN) clinical trial registration (# UMIN000031273)., (Copyright © 2023 European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.)

Background: The objective of this study was to predict when Bangladesh would achieve Sustainable Development Goal Target 3.1, which is to reduce the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) to less than 70 per 100 000 live births., Methods: We used secondary data from the 1993 to 2017 Bangladesh Demographic and Health Surveys and other sources to project the MMR until 2060 under several scenario assumptions using an autoregressive moving average model with exogenous variables (ARMAX). Explanatory variables were selected based on the three delays model, and a reference forecast and four practical scenarios were simulated: Scenario 1 assumed a 4% annual increase in institutional deliveries, Scenario 2 followed the national goals, the reference forecast and Scenario 3 varied in terms of district-wise increase rates (Scenario 3 had a lower rate of increase), and Scenario 4 assumed minimal changes in institutional deliveries., Results: Scenario 1 was the earliest, with an MMR of <70 per 100 000 live births in 2026. Scenario 2 would meet the target of <70 per 100 000 live births in 2029. The reference forecast had the third lowest MMR, with 69.78 per 100 000 live births (95% prediction intervals (PI) = 32.44 to 107.11) in 2049. Although the MMR for Scenario 3 decreased slowly, it would not reduce below 70 per 100 000 live births by 2060. Scenario 4, which had the highest MMR, also resulted in the MMR not reducing below 70 per 100 000 live births by 2060., Conclusions: To increase the institutional delivery rate and reduce the MMR, as in Scenarios 1 and 2, it is necessary to improve the institutional delivery rate in regions with low institutional delivery rates. Additionally, health facilities need to provide appropriate quality medical care to increase the institutional delivery rate and contribute to a decrease in the MMR, as shown by the results of this study., Competing Interests: Disclosure of interest: The authors completed the ICMJE Disclosure of Interest Form (available upon request from the corresponding author) and disclose no relevant interests., (Copyright © 2024 by the Journal of Global Health. All rights reserved.)

Background: In Japanese medical practice, older stroke survivors are overwhelmed with information regarding their discharge locations, creating more decision-making challenges. A randomized controlled trial evaluated the influence of decision aids (DAs) for matching older stroke patients and their families' values concerning decisional conflict and participation in discharge destination decisions., Methods: Participants were randomly allocated to intervention and control groups. The intervention spanned two months, from admission to discharge, at which times participants were surveyed. DAs were provided to the intervention group, and brochures to the control group. The primary endpoint was decisional conflict, assessed using the Decisional Conflict Scale (DCS). The secondary endpoint decision-making participation was assessed using the Control Preference Scale (CPS) decision-making roles and a 10-point Visual Analog Scale for participation rate. An independent t-test analyzed decisional conflict scores and participation rates to examine between-group differences. The chi-square independence test evaluated roles in decision-making scores. Post hoc subgroup analyses were performed., Results: Ninety-nine participants (intervention group n = 51; control group n = 48) were included in the full analysis set, with a dropout rate of 38.4%. No significant group differences were found in decision-making conflict [t (99) = 0.69, p = 0.49, d = 0.14] and roles in decision-making scores [χ2 (5) = 3.65, p = 0.46]. However, a significant group difference was found in the participation rate [t (99) = 2.24, p = 0.03, d = 0.45]. DA tended to reduce uncertainty and promote participation rates, especially in participants living alone and unable to decide their discharge destination., Conclusions: The use of DA with older stroke patients did not significantly decrease decisional conflicts. In addition, the participation rate in decision-making increased, but their active role did not. Further studies should be conducted to understand the methods of offering DA, their ideal durations, and identify their beneficiaries., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Aoki et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Whether the association between metabolic syndrome (MetS) and functional disability differs depending on sex or age remains unknown. To determine the association between MetS and functional disability in older people separately by sex and age groups. A total of 11 083 participants (4407 men and 6676 women) aged 65 years or over without functional disability were enrolled. MetS was defined according to the revised NCEP ATP III guidelines. Functional disability was defined by a new certification in the long-term care insurance in Japan. Cox proportional hazards models were used to assess the risk of functional disability with adjustment for possible confounding factors. Over the mean observation period of 10.5 years, 1282 men and 2162 women experienced functional disability. For those aged 65 to 74 years, HRs (95% CIs) for functional disability in the MetS group were 1.33 (1.07-1.66) in men and 1.15 (1.000-1.32) in women. For those aged 75 years or older, there was no significant association in men or women. In subjects with a severe care need level, there was a marginal significant association in men aged 65 to 74 years. Among the MetS components that independently increased the risk of functional disability were glucose intolerance and elevated blood pressure (men and women aged 65-74 years), obesity (women aged 65-74 years), and glucose intolerance (women aged 75 years or older). MetS contributed to an increase in a high risk of future functional disability among individuals aged 65 to 74 years. In this age group, improvement of lifestyle, health promotion and interventions for MetS from middle age may prevent future functional disability., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared the following potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: M.T-U., K.T., Y.Y., and A.O received a research grant from Eli Lilly Japan K.K. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results. None of the other authors declares a conflict of interest.

Introduction and Objectives: Both computed tomography (CT) and renal scintigraphy (RS) have been used to assess vascular anatomy, renal status, and split renal function (SRF). In this study, we used a recently developed software that facilitates renal volumetric evaluations to compare RS and automated CT volumetry for assessing residual renal function and, thus, estimating postoperative renal function after donor nephrectomy., Methods: Fifty-one cases of donor nephrectomy were analyzed. Residual renal function was estimated based on RS and CT volumetry. The correlation between the postoperative estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and expected SRF, measured using RS and three types of CT volumetry data (ellipsoid, thin-slice, and 5-mm slice data), was determined., Results: The correlation coefficient between actual eGFR and expected SRF was significantly associated at each time point and modality (p &lt; 0.0001). At any time point, the difference in correlation coefficient between RS and 5-mm volumetry was significant (p value: 0.003-0.018), whereas the differences in correlation coefficients between RS and the triaxial volume calculation, and the triaxial volume calculation and 5-mm volumetry, were generally statistically insignificant., Conclusions: Expected SRF was estimated more accurately by CT volumetric calculations (especially 5-mm slice-based volumetry) than RS., (© 2023 S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Objectives　This study aimed to develop scales for evaluating the level of implementation of community practices and explore the perception of public health nurses in municipalities regarding their community practices.Methods　Draft scales were developed based on a literature review and interviews with municipal public health nurses. Subsequently, a questionnaire survey was conducted with municipal public health nurses across Japan in response to these draft scales. Respondents were recruited based on the municipality population size. Questionnaires were distributed to 2,074 individuals from 52 municipalities ensuring representation from diverse municipalities. Exploratory factor analysis was performed to determine the number of factors, while confirmatory factor analysis was performed to determine the factor structure. The reliability of the scales was assessed by calculating Cronbach's alpha coefficients, and their validity was tested by examining correlations with existing scales, namely the Moral Competence Scale for Public Health Nurses and the Professional Identity Scale for Public Health Nurses, and years of experience as a public health nurse.Results　A total of 721 (34.8%) valid respondents were included in the analysis. Three scales, methods of community practices (three factors, nine items), perceptions of public health nurses toward community residents through community practices (three factors, 10 items), and organizational environment supporting community practices (two factors, 11 items) were developed as indicators of the implementation of public health nurses' community practices. Cronbach's alpha coefficients for the three scales were 0.896, 0.913, and 0.868, respectively. As hypothesized, each subfactor exhibited a positive correlation with the existing scales. However, certain subfactors did not demonstrate any correlation with years of experience.Conclusion　The three scales developed in this study were individually examined for reliability and validity. These scales can be used independently or in combination, allowing public health nurses to select the most suitable scale(s) based on their objective.　A notable contribution of this study is the establishment of concrete indicators for evaluating community practices, addressing the previously vague nature of this evaluation. By incorporating the scale items into daily health practices, we anticipate that these indicators can be employed to evaluate community practices at the organizational and individual levels.

Competing Interests: Competing interests statement:The authors declare no competing interest.

Aim: To fill the knowledge gap regarding weight change and the onset of disability in community-dwelling Japanese older adults, we investigated the potential effects of rapid weight change on disability risk as defined by Japan's long-term care insurance (LTCI) system., Methods: We analyzed data from a longitudinal study of 10 375 community-dwelling older Japanese adults (≥65 years) who were not LTCI needs certified at baseline and joined the study from 2002 to 2005. Weight change (percentage) was calculated by subtracting participants' weight in the previous year from that measured during a physical examination at study commencement. The five weight-change categories ranged from sizable weight loss (≤ -8.0%) to sizable weight gain (≥ +8.0%). Disability was defined according to LTCI certifications at follow-up. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals were calculated for new-onset disability using a Cox proportional hazards model that fitted the proportional subdistribution hazards regression model with weights for competing risks of death., Results: During the mean 10.5-year follow-up, 2994 participants developed a disability. Sizable weight loss (HR [95% confidence intervals], 1.41 [1.17-1.71]) and weight loss (1.20 [1.05-1.36]) were significant predictors of disability onset. Sizable weight gain (1.45 [1.07-1.97]) corresponded to severe disability. Stratified analyses by lifestyle and initial body mass index categories revealed more pronounced associations between weight change and disability risk in the unhealthy lifestyle and below initial normal body mass index groups., Conclusions: Rapid and sizable weight gain could be additional criteria for disability risk in older adults. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2023; 23: 809-816., (© 2023 Japan Geriatrics Society.)

The nearby radio galaxy M87 offers a unique opportunity to explore the connections between the central supermassive black hole and relativistic jets. Previous studies of the inner region of M87 revealed a wide opening angle for the jet originating near the black hole 1-4 . The Event Horizon Telescope resolved the central radio source and found an asymmetric ring structure consistent with expectations from general relativity 5 . With a baseline of 17 years of observations, there was a shift in the jet's transverse position, possibly arising from an 8- to 10-year quasi-periodicity 3 . However, the origin of this sideways shift remains unclear. Here we report an analysis of radio observations over 22 years that suggests a period of about 11 years for the variation in the position angle of the jet. We infer that we are seeing a spinning black hole that induces the Lense-Thirring precession of a misaligned accretion disk. Similar jet precession may commonly occur in other active galactic nuclei but has been challenging to detect owing to the small magnitude and long period of the variation., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.)

Demand for food products, often from international trade, has brought agricultural land use into direct competition with biodiversity. Where these potential conflicts occur and which consumers are responsible is poorly understood. By combining conservation priority (CP) maps with agricultural trade data, we estimate current potential conservation risk hotspots driven by 197 countries across 48 agricultural products. Globally, a third of agricultural production occurs in sites of high CP (CP > 0.75, max = 1.0). While cattle, maize, rice, and soybean pose the greatest threat to very high-CP sites, other low-conservation risk products (e.g., sugar beet, pearl millet, and sunflower) currently are less likely to be grown in sites of agriculture-conservation conflict. Our analysis suggests that a commodity can cause dissimilar conservation threats in different production regions. Accordingly, some of the conservation risks posed by different countries depend on their demand and sourcing patterns of agricultural commodities. Our spatial analyses identify potential hotspots of competition between agriculture and high-conservation value sites (i.e., 0.5° resolution, or ~367 to 3,077km 2 , grid cells containing both agriculture and high-biodiversity priority habitat), thereby providing additional information that could help prioritize conservation activities and safeguard biodiversity in individual countries and globally. A web-based GIS tool at https://agriculture.spatialfootprint.com/biodiversity/ systematically visualizes the results of our analyses.