We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
To send content items to your account,
please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies.
If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account.
Find out more about sending content to .
To send content items to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org
is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings
on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part
of your Kindle email address below.
Find out more about sending to your Kindle.
Note you can select to send to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations.
‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be sent to your device when it is connected to wi-fi.
‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.
In the pioneering work by Dimitrov–Haiden–Katzarkov–Kontsevich, they introduced various categorical analogies from the classical theory of dynamical systems. In particular, they defined the entropy of an endofunctor on a triangulated category with a split generator. In the connection between the categorical theory and the classical theory, a stability condition on a triangulated category plays the role of a measured foliation so that one can measure the “volume” of objects, called the mass, via the stability condition. The aim of this paper is to establish fundamental properties of the growth rate of mass of objects under the mapping by the endofunctor and to clarify the relationship between it and the entropy. We also show that they coincide under a certain condition.
This chapter establishes peacebuilding as a historically and theoretically evolving concept and practice. Peacebuilding already has prisms open to multiple understandings. Nevertheless, seeing peacebuilding as a policy process enables us to comprehend that the whole idea and activity cannot be understood from one paradigm exclusively. It is a mixed activity, while still oriented to realizing an ultimate goal, "peace," which has multiple goals and serves multiple interests. We provide a comparative analysis of peacebuilding with existing IR theories. We identify both similarities and differences between peacebuilding as a policy paradigm and the various IR theories. We contend that the policy approach could complement other theories and further contribute to both academic and practical understandings of peacebuilding. It becomes clear that peacebuilding is not only a static picture of the theoretical mosaic but a hybrid approach with dynamic interactions among actors and theories.
Bosoite (IMA2014-023) is a new silica clathrate mineral containing hydrocarbon molecules in its crystal structure. Bosoite can be considered structurally as a silica analogue of the structure-H gas hydrate, where guest molecules are trapped in cage-like voids constructed of the host framework. The mineral occurs in the Miocene tuffaceous sedimentary rocks at Arakawa, Minami-boso City, Chiba Prefecture, Japan. Bosoite is hexagonal, and it crystallises as an epitaxial intergrowth on chibaite crystals, with the {0001} of bosoite parallel to octahedral {111} form of chibaite. Crystals are colourless and transparent with vitreous lustre. The calculated density is 2.04 g/cm3. The empirical formula (based on 2 O apfu and guest molecules assumed as CH4) is Na0.01(Si0.98Al0.02)Σ1.00O2⋅0.50CH4; the end-member formula is SiO2⋅nCxH2x+2. Bosoite has the space group P6/mmm, with the unit-cell parameters a = 13.9020(3) Å, c = 11.2802(2) Å, V = 1887.99(6) Å3 and Z = 34. The crystal structure of bosoite was refined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction and converged to R1 = 4.26% for the average model and R1 = 2.96% for the model where all oxygen sites are split.
Cowpea bean (Vigna unguiculata) is usually submitted to pre-harvest burndown with herbicides aiming to an early harvest. We aimed to quantify the residues of paraquat, diquat, glufosinate-ammonium and glyphosate in cowpea grains subjected to two timings of pre-harvest burndown. Three identical experiments were installed in Dourados (Lat. 22° S), Sinop (Lat. 11° S) and Teresina (Lat. 05° S), Brazil, comprising the pre-harvest burndown of cowpea bean with these herbicides, applied either with 50 or 75% of the pods dry and ready for harvest. As hotter and drier the location as slower the herbicide dissipation. Glyphosate should not be used for pre-harvest burndown of cowpea. Herbicide residues were above the maximum levels stated by the Brazilian legislation when applied with 50% dry pods. Burndown herbicides aiming to speed harvest should be applied with at least 75% dry pods in cowpea to ensure safe herbicide residue levels in grains.
The Diamond Princess cruise ship, carrying 3711 passengers and crew members, docked at Yokohama Port in Japan on February 3, 2020. A quarantine was immediately instituted because 1 passenger who had disembarked in Hong Kong was confirmed to have tested positive for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). After the quarantine began, all passengers and crew were tested using the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) polymerase chain reaction assay on the ship, 696 of whom tested positive. In total, 769 patients, including 696 with COVID-19, required transport to a hospital. The Japan Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT) successfully picked up and safely transported the COVID-19 patients using a novel classification system to prioritize patients. The Japan DMAT transported 203 patients to hospitals in Kanagawa and another 566 patients to hospitals in 15 different prefectures.
Up to the present, there have been few strategies that are completely effective in treating undifferentiated somatoform disorder with tinnitus. We herein report that Yoku-kan-san (TJ-54), one of Japan's traditional herbal medicines, is an effective treatment for tinnitus in undifferentiated somatoform disorder complicated with headache and insomnia. TJ-54 has been also used as an effective treatment for insomnia and irritability in recent centuries and is considered to have some effects on the excitability of nerves. Further studies are needed to confirm the efficacies of Japanese herbal medicines.
The corpus callosum (CC) is the largest interhemispheric white matter commissure connecting the cerebral hemispheres and plays a crucial role in interhemispheric communication and cognitive processes. The subdivisions of the CC were attempted to define corresponding areas of the cortex from which the fibers originate. Previous neuroanatomic studies of the CC provide impetus for investigating its role in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
Methods:
In this study diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) was employed to microstructural abnormalities of white matter of the CC in OCD patients. Nine patients with OCD and matched control subjects underwent DTI. Fractional anisotropy (FA), an index of the integrity of white matter tracts, was determined in the seven subdivisions of the CC.
Results:
Significant reduction in FA was found in the rostrum of the CC of patients with OCD compared with one of controls. FA of the other subdivisions except the rostrum in OCD patients did not differ compared with control subjects. Higher FA in the rostrum correlated with lower Y-BOCS scores (r = -0.852, p = 0.004).
Conclusions:
The rostrum contains fibers from inferior premotor as well as medial and caudate/orbital prefrontal regions. These results supported the theory of dysfunction of prefrontal cortex and striatal circuits in OCD and suggested the implication of the orbitofrontal circuit for symptom severity in the OCD patients.
The subdivisions of the corpus callosum (CC) were attempted to define corresponding areas of the cortex from which the fibers originate. Previous neuroanatomic studies of the CC provide impetus for investigating its role in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
Methods:
In this study diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) was employed to microstructural abnormalities of white matter of the CC in OCD patients. Nine patients with OCD and matched control subjects underwent DTI. Fractional anisotropy (FA), an index of the integrity of white matter tracts, was determined in the seven subdivisions of the CC. We placed each reagions of interest (ROI) over the sagittal plane and all subdivisions were measured.
Results:
Significant reduction in FA was found in the rostrum of the CC of patients with OCD compared with one of controls. FA of the other subdivisions except the rostrum in OCD patients did not differ significantly compared with control subjects. Higher FA in the rostrum correlated significantly with lower Y-BOCS scores (r = -0.803, p = 0.009).
Conclusions:
The rostrum contains fibers from inferior premotor as well as medial and caudate/orbital prefrontal regions. These results supported the theory of dysfunction of prefrontal cortex and striatal circuits in OCD and suggested the implication of the orbitofrontal circuit for symptom severity in the OCD patients.
Patients with psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, are reported to suffer from sleep disorders.
Objective
To investigate the effects of lurasidone on sleep architecture in rats using sleep electroencephalography.
Methods
Seven adult male rats were used in this study. A pair of electrode wires was implanted in the dura of each rat and electromyograms were recorded from their dorsal neck muscles. Drugs were administered at the start of the lights-on period, and electroencephalograms (EEG)were recorded for 6 hours in individual soundproof boxes. The course of sleep in rats has been classified into 3 stages: WAKE, non-REM (NREM) sleep and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Total NREM duration, REM duration, and latencies to the initial REM and NREM were calculated. In addition, the number and mean duration of bouts in every 2-hour period were calculated in each stage. EEG power in each of the following frequency bands during NREM sleep was quantified: delta (0.5-4 Hz), theta (4-8 Hz), alpha (8-12 Hz), beta (12-30 Hz) and gamma (30-80 Hz).
Results
Lurasidone shortened REM sleep duration and prolonged the mean duration of one bout in WAKE and NREM sleep. Quantitative frequency analyses during NREM sleep revealed that lurasidone increases slow waves and decreases fast waves. The serotonin 5-HT1A receptor partial agonist, tandospirone, and selective serotonin 5-HT7 receptor antagonist, SB-258741, also exhibited REM-inhibitory effects similar to those of lurasidone.
Conclusion
These results suggest that lurasidone ameliorates sleep disorders associated with psychosis through, at least partly, serotonin 5-HT1A and serotonin 5-HT7 receptors.
There are a number of clinical scores to measure cognitive impairment and behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) for dementia patients.
Objective
Previous BPSD scores are well established, but they usually take long time. Furthermore they were made almost 20 years ago, and therefore may not even fit a current BPSD because affective expressions may change depending on modern society change.
Aim
To make a new and simple score which fits modern change of BPSD.
Method
Based on BPSD inquiry from 129 caregivers in local area (patients 81.6 ± 9.9 years old and female 70.5%), a new and simple BPSD score was created, and compared to standard BPSD score NPI (neuropsychiatry inventory). Time was measured to complete this new BPSD score (ABS, Abe's BPSD score) and NPI. This ABS was examined before and after a choline esterase inhibitor treatment.
Result
We gave final scores to each BPSD items with such temporal frequencies taken into account ranging 0-9, and finalized a new BPSD score of score 0-44 between no BPSD to full BPSD. Average time to complete both NPI and ABS was 308.9 ± 86.3 sec and 46.5 ± 16.2 sec (**p< 0.01), respectively. Galantamine showed an improvement of average ABS with - 2.3 ± 1.0 (*p< 0.05) from original score of 6.1 ± 6.6 after 3 month of the treatment.
Conclusion
These data suggest that this new and simple BPSD score (ABS) may be beneficial to quickly evaluate BPSD before and after a treatment of dementia patients.
A variety of hereditary spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) develops a broad spectrum of both ataxia and non-ataxia symptoms. Cognitive and affective changes are one such non-ataxia symptoms, but have been described only in hereditary SCAs with exonic CAG gene expansion.
Methods:
We newly found intronic hexanucleotide GGCCTG gene expansion in NOP56 gene as the causative mutation (=SCA36) in nine unrelated Japanese familial SCA originating from Asida river area in the western part of Japan, thus nicknamed Asidan for this mutation. These patients show unique clinical balance of cerebellar ataxia and motor neuron disease (MND), locating on the crossroad of these two diseases. We examined cognitive and affective analyses on 12 Asidan patients who agreed to join the examination.
Results:
The 12 Asidan patients demonstrated a significant decrease in their frontal executive functions measured by frontal assessment battery (FAB) and Montreal cognitive assessment (MoCA) compared with age- and gender-matched controls, whilst mini-mental state examination (MMSE) and Hasegawa dementia score-revised (HDS-R) were within normal range. the decline of frontal executive function was related to their disease duration and scale for the assessment and rating of ataxias (SARA). They also demonstrated mild depression and apathy. Single-photon emission tomography (SPECT) analysis showed that these Asidan patients showed decline of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in a particular areas of cerebral cortices such as Brodmann areas 24 and 44-46.
Conclusions:
These data suggest the patients with Asidan mutation show unique cognitive and affective characteristics different from other hereditary SCAs with exonal CAG expansion or MND.
The acquisition and extinction of conditioned fear underlies the pathophysiology of anxiety disorders, including PTSD. Women have higher lifetime prevalence and greater risk of PTSD than men. Such sex differences may be attributed to a combination of genetic and hormonal factors. The catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene encodes an enzyme that metabolizes catechol compounds, including dopamine. The COMT Val158Met polymorphism affects the enzymatic activity of dopamine and has been associated with altered fear memory performance. Besides, when estrogen secretion is elevated, women show a greater extinction of conditioned fear than men. Here, we investigated the relationship between the COMT genotype and sex in the acquisition and extinction of conditioned fear. In a 3-day cued fear conditioning experiment, acquisition and extinction performance of 75 healthy men (21.8 years) and 45 healthy women in follicular phase (21.2 years) were examined. Visual cues and electric shocks were used as the conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus, respectively. Subjects with Met/Met homozygotes showed less fear acquisition (p < .0001). Female Val carriers showed more extinction (p = .009) and less reconsolidation (p < .0001) than male Val carriers. Women with Val/Val homozygotes were less affected by a reinforcing stimulus than men with Val/Val homozygotes (p = .0001). These findings suggest a clear interaction between the COMT gene and sex in fear memory function, and that women have a greater tolerance for aversive experiences than men. Higher estrogen levels mediate increased dopaminagic activity, potentially optimizing the prefrontal function known to contribute to the fear-related symptomatology of PTSD.
Development of pulmonary arteriovenous fistulas in patients with cavopulmonary anastomosis may result in a significant morbidity. Although the use of bubble contrast echocardiography with selective injection into both the branch pulmonary arteries in identifying pulmonary arteriovenous fistulas has been increasing, the actual efficacy of this diagnostic modality has not been properly evaluated. Thus, this study aimed to assess the efficacy of bubble contrast echocardiography in detecting pulmonary arteriovenous fistulas in children with total cavopulmonary connection.
Methods:
A total of 140 patients were included. All patients underwent cardiac catheterisation. Bubble contrast echocardiographic studies were performed by injecting agitated saline solution into the branch pulmonary arteries. Transthoracic echocardiograms that use an apical view were conducted to assess the appearance of bubble contrast in the systemic ventricles. Then, the contrast echocardiogram results and other cardiac parameters were compared.
Results:
No correlation was found between contrast echocardiogram grade and other cardiac parameters, such as pulmonary capillary wedge saturation and pulmonary artery resistance. Moreover, only 13 patients had negative results on both the right and left contrast echocardiograms, and 127 of the 140 patients had positive results on contrast echocardiograms even though they had normal pulmonary capillary wedge saturation. Results showed that bubble contrast echocardiography was a highly sensitive method and was likely to obtain false-positive results.
Conclusions:
Bubble contrast echocardiography might be highly false positive in detecting pulmonary arteriovenous fistulas in patients with cavopulmonary anastomosis. We have to consider how we make use of this method. Further standardisation of techniques is required.
Deep neural networks (DNNs) have the same structure as the neocognitron proposed in 1979 but have much better performance, which is because DNNs include many heuristic techniques such as pre-training, dropout, skip connections, batch normalization (BN), and stochastic depth. However, the reason why these techniques improve the performance is not fully understood. Recently, two tools for theoretical analyses have been proposed. One is to evaluate the generalization gap, defined as the difference between the expected loss and empirical loss, by calculating the algorithmic stability, and the other is to evaluate the convergence rate by calculating the eigenvalues of the Fisher information matrix of DNNs. This overview paper briefly introduces the tools and shows their usefulness by showing why the skip connections and BN improve the performance.
We investigated whether non-digestible saccharide fermentation-derived hydrogen molecules (H2) in rat colon could improve the in vivo reduction–oxidation (redox) balance via regeneration of α-tocopherol, by assessing their effect on hydroxyl radicals, the α-tocopherol concentration and the redox balance. In Expt 1, a Fenton reaction with phenylalanine (0 or 1·37 mmol/l of H2) was conducted. In Expt 2, rats received intraperitoneally maize oil containing phorone (400 mg/kg) 7 d after drinking ad libitum water containing 0 or 4 % fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) (groups CP and FP, respectively). In Expt 3, rats unable to synthesise ascorbic acid drank ad libitum for 14 d water with 240 mg ascorbic acid/l (group AC), 20 mg of ascorbic acid/l (group DC) or 20 mg of ascorbic acid/l and 4 % FOS (group DCF). In the Fenton reaction, H2 reduced tyrosine produced from phenylalanine to 72 % when platinum was added and to 92 % when platinum was excluded. In Expt 2, liver glutathione was depleted by administration of phorone to rats. However, compared with CP, no change in the m-tyrosine concentration in the liver of FP was detected. In Expt 3, net H2 excretion was higher in DCF than in the other rats after 3 d of the experiment. Furthermore, the concentrations of H2 and α-tocopherol and the redox glutathione ratio in perirenal adipose tissue of rats were significantly higher in DCF than in DC. To summarise, in rat colon, fermentation-derived H2 further shifted the redox balance towards a more reducing status in perirenal adipose tissue through increased regeneration of α-tocopherol.
To identify chronological changes in the marine reservoir effect in southwest Japan, the radiocarbon ages of eight pairs of marine shells and terrestrial plants were measured from the same horizons of one core of Holocene sediments. This core was obtained from the northern part of the Sukumo Plain in southwestern Shikoku Island, which faces the warm Kuroshio Current. The drilling site is located in an area of subsidence associated with the convergence of the Philippine Sea Plate and the Eurasian Plate. On analyses of lithology, molluscan assemblages, and radiocarbon dating, we interpreted, from oldest to youngest, nine units: basement rock, a braided river channel, a meandering river channel, an estuary, a transgressive inner bay, Kikai-Akahoya volcanic ash, a deltaic inner bay, a tidal flat, and artificial soil. Changes in the depositional environment were mainly associated with sea-level rise after the end of the last glaciation. The reservoir ages of the eight pairs, 330 ± 70 yr, were obtained from a transgressive inner bay to deltaic inner bay sediments, formed during 4100–9200 cal BP. The chronological change in the reservoir effect allows us to correlate the Sukumo Core sediments with previous results from southwestern Japan, the Korean Peninsula, and Taiwan Island.