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We observed liver failure with a presumed etiology of echinococcosis in an 89-year-old woman. Our patient had been born and then resided on Rebun Island until she was 12 years old. At 46 years old, she had been referred to our hospital due to right abdominal pain. Ultrasound had revealed multilocular cysts in the right lobe of the liver. At 84 years old, the hepatic cyst occupied nearly the entire liver with ring-shaped calcification along the cyst wall. The patient was diagnosed with decompensated cirrhosis and hepatic hydatid disease based on typical imaging and the long-term natural clinical course.

The relationship between long-term intensive training and brain plasticity in gymnasts has recently been reported. However, the relationship between abilities in different gymnastic events and brain structural changes has not been explored. This study aimed to evaluate the correlation between world-class gymnasts (WCGs)’ specific abilities in different gymnastics events and their gray matter (GM) volume. Ten right-handed Japanese male WCGs and 10 right-handed gender- and age-matched controls with no history of gymnastic training participated in this study. Whole brain three-dimensional T1-weighted images (magnetization-prepared rapid gradient-echo sequence) with 0.90 mm3 voxels were obtained using a 3 T-MRI scanner from each subject. Volume-based morphometry (VolBM) was used to compare GM volume differences between WCGs and controls. We then explored the correlation between specific gymnastic abilities using different gymnastic apparatuses, and GM volume. Significantly higher GM volumes (false discovery rate-corrected p

Extensive gray matter (GM) involvement has been demonstrated in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. This study was aimed to identify GM alterations in relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) patients using synthetic quantitative MRI (qMRI). We assessed myelin volume fraction (MVF) in each voxel on the basis of R1 and R2 relaxation rates and proton density in 14 early and 28 late (disease duration ≤5 and >5 years, respectively) RRMS patients, and 15 healthy controls (HCs). The MVF and myelin volumes of GM (GM-MyVol) were compared between groups using GM-based spatial statistics (GBSS) and the Kruskal-Wallis test, respectively. Correlations between MVF or GM-MyVol and disease duration or expanded disability status scale were also evaluated. RRMS patients showed a lower MVF than HCs, predominantly in the limbic and para-limbic areas, with more extensive areas noted in late RRMS patients. Late-RRMS patients had the smallest GM-MyVol (20.44 mL; early RRMS, 22.77 mL; HCs, 23.36 mL). Furthermore, the GM-MyVol in the RRMS group was inversely correlated with disease duration (r = −0.43, p = 0.005). In conclusion, the MVF and MyVol obtained by synthetic qMRI can be used to evaluate GM differences in RRMS patients.

Li 1.20 − y Ni 0.17 Co 0.10 Mn 0.53 O 2 ( y = 0.1–0.93) were prepared electrochemically and characterized using synchrotron XRD and XAFS measurements. Structural analysis using XRD data demonstrated that the lattice parameters of Li 1.20 Ni 0.17 Co 0.10 Mn 0.53 O 2 are a = 0.285214(7) nm and c = 1.42173(3) nm and that the chemical composition can be expressed referring to the Wyckoff positions 3 a and 3 b as [Li 0.988 Ni 0.012 ] 3 a [Li 0.212 Ni 0.158 Mn 0.53 Co 0.10 ] 3 b O 2 . The M ( M = Ni, Co, and Mn) K and L-edge XAFS results suggested that the Li de-intercalation from Li 1.20 Ni 0.17 Co 0.10 Mn 0.53 O 2 proceeded mainly by the oxidation of Ni and Co ions up to y = 0.4 and then by the removal from oxygen from the lattice up to y = 0.93. On the other hand, the O K-edge XANES results indicated no increase in Li 2 CO 3 or Li 2 O on the surface of the positive electrode materials with Li de-intercalation. These results demonstrate that the XAFS method using a combination of soft and hard X-ray is effective way of clarifying the Li de-intercalation/intercalation of the positive electrode materials.

現代アメリカ英語における医療語や、そこから派生した表現を分析した。主に、Mike Peters の漫画 Mother Goose & Grimm を素材に、アメリカにおいて日常的に使用されたり、注目を集めたりしている医療に関わる英語を取り上げ、それらの語や表現を理解するために必要であると同時に、特に英語を母国語としない、または英語文化圏の外にいる者にとって非常に大きな障害となる、言語文化的背景の考察を行った。

アメリカ英語における商品名とその特殊な用例をいくつか取り上げ、品詞転換や意味変化といった言語学的特徴、さらには他の語と複合的に用いられることで新たな表現として派生していることを明らかにした。同時に、それらの言語変化を可能にしているアメリカ文化という背景の存在を指摘し、言語と文化の関わりについての研究が重要であることを具体的に示した。

For the purpose of developing the new engineering materials such as structural materials and tribomaterials based on plants-derived polymers, the tribological properties of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) filled plants-derived semi-aromatic polyamide 10T (PA10T) composites and glass fiber (GF) reinforced PTFE/PA10T composites were investigated. PA10T is a kind of polyphthalamide (PPA, semi-aromatic polyamide) and biomass polymer made from plants-derived decamethylenediamine and coal-derived terephthalic acid. PTFE/PA10T and GF/PA10T/PTFE composites were melt-mixed by a twin screw extruder and injection-molded. Their mechanical properties such as tensile, Izod impact, and tribological properties were evaluated. Tribological properties were measured by a ring-on-plate type sliding wear tester under dry condition. Tribological properties of PA10T such as frictional coefficient, specific wear rate and limiting pv value improved with the addition of PTFE, although the mechanical properties such as tensile strength and tensile modulus decreased with PTFE. On the other hand, the frictional coefficient and specific wear rate of GF/PA10T/PTFE composites were higher than those of PTFE/PA10T composites, however limiting pv value and mechanical properties improved significantly with the filling of GF. It follows from these results that it may be possible to develop the new tribomaterials based on plants-derived polymer composites with sufficient balances between mechanical and tribological properties.