In this study, we present a new granular rock-analogue material (GRAM) with a dynamic scaling suitable for the simulation of fault and fracture processes in analogue experiments. Dynamically scaled experiments allow the direct comparison of geometrical, kinematical and mechanical processes between model and nature. The geometrical scaling factor defines the model resolution, which depends on the density and cohesive strength ratios of model material and natural rocks. Granular materials such as quartz sands are ideal for the simulation of upper crustal deformation processes as a result of similar nonlinear deformation behaviour of granular flow and brittle rock deformation. We compared the geometrical scaling factor of common analogue materials applied in tectonic models, and identified a gap in model resolution corresponding to the outcrop and structural scale (1–100 m). The proposed GRAM is composed of quartz sand and hemihydrate powder and is suitable to form cohesive aggregates capable of deforming by tensile and shear failure under variable stress conditions. Based on dynamical shear tests, GRAM is characterized by a similar stress–strain curve as dry quartz sand, has a cohesive strength of 7.88 kPa and an average density of 1.36 g cm−3. The derived geometrical scaling factor is 1 cm in model = 10.65 m in nature. For a large-scale test, GRAM material was applied in strike-slip analogue experiments. Early results demonstrate the potential of GRAM to simulate fault and fracture processes, and their interaction in fault zones and damage zones during different stages of fault evolution in dynamically scaled analogue experiments.

The basal ganglia represents a key component of the pathophysiological model for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). This brain region is part of several neural circuits, including the orbitofronto-striatal circuit and dorsolateral prefronto-striatal circuit. There are, however, no published studies investigating those circuits at a network level in non-medicated patients with OCD. Resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans were obtained from 20 non-medicated patients with OCD and 23 matched healthy volunteers. Voxelwise statistical parametric maps testing strength of functional connectivity of three striatal seed regions of interest (ROIs) with remaining brain regions were calculated and compared between groups. We performed additional correlation analyses between strength of connectivity and the severity scores for obsessive-compulsive symptoms, depression, and anxiety in the OCD group. Positive functional connectivity with the ventral striatum was significantly increased (Pcorrected <.05) in the orbitofrontal cortex, ventral medial prefrontal cortex and dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex of subjects with OCD. There was no significant correlation between measures of symptom severity and the strength of connectivity (Puncorrected <.001). This is the first study to investigate the corticostriatal connectivity in non-medicated patients with OCD. These findings provide the first direct evidence supporting a pathophysiological model involving basal ganglia circuitry in OCD.

Measurements in the infrared wavelength domain allow direct assessment of the physical state and energy balance of cool matter in space, enabling the detailed study of the processes that govern the formation and evolution of stars and planetary systems in galaxies over cosmic time. Previous infrared missions revealed a great deal about the obscured Universe, but were hampered by limited sensitivity.

SPICA takes the next step in infrared observational capability by combining a large 2.5-meter diameter telescope, cooled to below 8 K, with instruments employing ultra-sensitive detectors. A combination of passive cooling and mechanical coolers will be used to cool both the telescope and the instruments. With mechanical coolers the mission lifetime is not limited by the supply of cryogen. With the combination of low telescope background and instruments with state-of-the-art detectors SPICA provides a huge advance on the capabilities of previous missions.

SPICA instruments offer spectral resolving power ranging from R ~50 through 11 000 in the 17–230 μm domain and R ~28.000 spectroscopy between 12 and 18 μm. SPICA will provide efficient 30–37 μm broad band mapping, and small field spectroscopic and polarimetric imaging at 100, 200 and 350 μm. SPICA will provide infrared spectroscopy with an unprecedented sensitivity of ~5 × 10−20 W m−2 (5σ/1 h)—over two orders of magnitude improvement over what earlier missions. This exceptional performance leap, will open entirely new domains in infrared astronomy; galaxy evolution and metal production over cosmic time, dust formation and evolution from very early epochs onwards, the formation history of planetary systems.

We analyse the chemical abundances of stars in the local group dwarf galaxies using the SAGA database. The inspection of the relationship between Eu and Ba abundances confirms an anomalously Ba-rich population in Fornax, which indicates a pre-enrichment of interstellar gas with r-process elements.

Aspidolite, the Na analogue of phlogopite, ideally NaMg3AlSi3O10(OH)2, occurring in hornfels from a contact aureole in Kasuga-mura, central Japan, has been approved as a mica species by the Commission on New Minerals and Mineral Names of the International Mineralogical Association. Aspidolite is interleaved with and surrounded by phlogopite. Based on its mode of occurrence, phlogopite is classified into two types; (1) phlogopite interleaved with aspidolite (= interleaved phlogopite) and (2) phlogopite rim. The aspidolite-phlogopite assemblage is associated with amphibole (pargasite-magnesiosadanagaite), titanite, calcite, scapolite, apatite, pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite. A representative chemical formula of aspidolite is (Na0.90K0.10)∑1.00(Mg2.27Al0.41Fe0.232+Ti0.05)∑2.96 (Al1.44Si2.56)∑4.00O10(OH1.97F0.03)∑2.00. Aspidolite has almost fully occupied the interlayer site; its Na/(Na+K) ratio ranges from 0.67 to 0.95. It has more tetrahedral Al (1.38—1.48 a.p.f.u. for O = 11) than the ideal aspidolite end-member showing progression of tschermakite-type substitution. The alternation of aspidolite and phlogopite parallel to the (001) plane may indicate a miscibility gap between these two phases. The phlogopite rim is interpreted as a later product, probably formed metasomatically. Aspidolite is optically biaxial negative with elongation positive and Z ‖ cleavage. Two polytypes (1M and 1A) of aspidolite were identified in X-ray powder diffraction patterns. Aspidolite-1M is monoclinic, space group C2/m, with refined unit-cell parameters a = 5.291(8), b = 9.16(2), c = 10.12(2) Å, β = 105.1(1)°, V = 473(1) Å3, Z = 2. Aspidolite-1A is triclinic, space group C, with a = 5.289(6), b = 9.16(1), c = 9.892(9) Å, α = 94.45(9), β = 97.74(9), γ = 90.0(1)°, V = 473.4(9) Å3, Z = 2.

IR spectroscopy in the range 12–230 μm with the SPace IR telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics (SPICA) will reveal the physical processes governing the formation and evolution of galaxies and black holes through cosmic time, bridging the gap between the James Webb Space Telescope and the upcoming Extremely Large Telescopes at shorter wavelengths and the Atacama Large Millimeter Array at longer wavelengths. The SPICA, with its 2.5-m telescope actively cooled to below 8 K, will obtain the first spectroscopic determination, in the mid-IR rest-frame, of both the star-formation rate and black hole accretion rate histories of galaxies, reaching lookback times of 12 Gyr, for large statistically significant samples. Densities, temperatures, radiation fields, and gas-phase metallicities will be measured in dust-obscured galaxies and active galactic nuclei, sampling a large range in mass and luminosity, from faint local dwarf galaxies to luminous quasars in the distant Universe. Active galactic nuclei and starburst feedback and feeding mechanisms in distant galaxies will be uncovered through detailed measurements of molecular and atomic line profiles. The SPICA’s large-area deep spectrophotometric surveys will provide mid-IR spectra and continuum fluxes for unbiased samples of tens of thousands of galaxies, out to redshifts of z ~ 6.

This report discusses the one-dimensional freezing of dry snow/ wet snow systems for the condition first examined by Stefan: the problem of heat conduction with phase change. There are two systems of internal freezing: one is a closed system of temperature rise in a dry snow layer sandwiched between upper and lower wet snow layers; the other an open system of freezing of a thin wet layer provoked mainly by an upper dry snow layer facing the atmosphere at its surface. The latter negatively concerns the release of some avalanches, because the weak layers of surface avalanches in districts where the melt-freeze metamorphism prevails (as in the Horuriku district of Japan) may be the thin wet granular snow layers.

Numerical results are given for different conditions of internal freezing. A comparison with field observations reveals the fundamental aspect of this phenomenon and the possibility of avalanche release.

Japan has been free from rabies since 1958. A strict import regimen has been adopted since 2004 consisting of identification of an animal with microchip, two-time rabies vaccination, neutralizing antibody titration test and a waiting period of 180 days. The present study aims to quantitatively assess the risk of rabies introduction into Japan through the international importation of dogs and cats and hence provide evidence-based recommendations to strengthen the current rabies prevention system. A stochastic scenario tree model was developed and simulations were run using @RISK. The probability of infection in a single dog or cat imported into Japan is estimated to be 2·16 × 10−9 [90% prediction interval (PI) 6·65 × 10−11–6·48 × 10−9]. The number of years until the introduction of a rabies case is estimated to be 49 444 (90% PI 19 170–94 641) years. The current import regimen is effective in maintaining the very low risk of rabies introduction into Japan and responding to future changes including increases in import level and rabies prevalence in the world. However, non-compliance or smuggling activities could substantially increase the risk of rabies introduction. Therefore, policy amendment which could promote compliance is highly recommended. Scenario analysis demonstrated that the waiting period could be reduced to 90 days and the requirement for vaccination could be reduced to a single vaccination, but serological testing should not be stopped.

The correlation of stress in Silicon Carbide (SiC) crystal and frequency shift in micro- Raman spectroscopy was determined by an experimental method. We applied uniaxial stress to 4H- and 6H-SiC single crystal square bar specimen shaped with (0001) and (11-20) faces by four point bending test, under measuring the frequency shift in micro-Raman spectroscopy. The results revealed that the linearity coefficients between stress and Raman shift were -1.96 cm-1/GPa for FTO(2/4)E2 on 4H-SiC (0001) face, -2.08 cm-1/GPa for FTO(2/4)E2 on 4H-SiC (11-20) face and -2.70 cm-1/GPa for FTO(2/6)E2 on 6H-SiC (0001) face. Determination of these coefficients has made it possible to evaluate the residual stress in SiC crystal quantitatively by micro-Raman spectroscopy. We evaluated the residual stress in SiC substrate that was grown in our laboratory by utilizing the results obtained in this study. The result of estimation indicated that the SiC substrate with a diameter of 6 inch remained residual stress as low as ±15 MPa.

To study the nature of Lyα blobs (aka LABs), we conduct a deep C IV and He II narrowband imaging survey of 13 Lyα blobs located in SSA22 proto-cluster at z ~ 3.1. We reach the unprecedented sensitivity, 5σ surface brightness limit of 2.1 − 3.4 × 10−18 erg s−1 cm−2 arcsec−2 per 1 arcsec2 aperture for two emission lines. We do not detect any extended C IV and He II emission, placing strong upper limits on the He II/Lyα and C IV/Lyα line ratios. We compare our limits with data in the literature related to the nebulae associated with high-redshift radio galaxies (HzRGs) and quasars, and we recover the data by modeling the LABs as nebulosities powered by a central QSO. For further information see Arrigoni Battaia et al. (2014).

We present initial results from adaptive optics deep imaging in the Ks-band of QSO UM402 (zem=2.856), with the IRCS camera on Subaru telescope.

We present a new method to investigate the IMF in the early universe from observations of extremely metal-poor (EMP) stars. EMP stars are the low-mass survivors of stars which are formed in the early universe. We can give constraints on the IMF from statistics of the elemental abundances of the EMP stars in the Galactic halo.

This study determined the prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility of Salmonella isolated from broiler flocks in Japan. Caecal dropping samples were collected from 288 broiler flocks between November 2007 and February 2010. Salmonella was prevalent in 248 (86·1%) broiler flocks. The top three serovars were S. Infantis, S. Manhattan and S. Schwarzengrund. S. Infantis was found in all regions tested in this study. However, S. Manhattan and S. Schwarzengrund were frequently found only in the western part of Japan. High antimicrobial resistance rates were observed against oxytetracycline (90·2%), dihydrostreptomycin (86·7%) and ampicillin (36·5%), and 258 (90·5%) of 285 isolates were resistant to two or more antimicrobial agents. Interestingly, 26·3% of isolates were resistant to ceftiofur, especially 38·1% of S. Infantis isolates, although its use in broilers has not been approved in Japan. This study showed that Salmonella is highly prevalent (86·1%) in Japanese broiler flocks, that 90·5% of Salmonella isolates were multidrug-resistant, and that S. Infantis frequently exhibited resistance to cephalosporin antimicrobial agents.

An ultra-small tactile sensor with functions of signal processing and digital communication has been prototyped based on MEMS-CMOS integration technology. The designed analog-digital mixed signal ASIC allows many tactile sensors to connect each other on a common bus line, which drastically reduces the number of wire. The ASIC capacitively detects the deformation of a force sensor and sends digital data to the common bus line when the force exceeds a threshold. The digital data contain a physical ID of each sensor, 32-bit sensing data and 16-bit cyclic redundancy check (CRC) code. In this study, a novel wafer-level integration and packaging technology were developed, and a chip-size-packaged tactile sensor with a small footprint (2.5mm×2.5mm) and a low profile (0.27mm) was prototyped and tested. The sensor autonomously sends digital data like a tactile receptor of human.

Human salmonellosis cases, particularly those caused by Salmonella Enteritidis, have been closely linked to egg consumption. This epidemiological survey was conducted to determine the baseline Salmonella prevalence and identify the risk factors for Salmonella prevalence in laying-hen farms in Japan. Caecal excrement samples and dust samples were obtained from 400 flocks in 338 laying-hen farms. Salmonella was identified in 20·7% of the farms and 19·5% of the flocks. The prevalence of Salmonella was significantly higher in flocks reared in windowless houses than in those reared in open houses. In addition, the risk of Salmonella presence was significantly higher when the windowless house farms implemented induced moulting or in-line egg processing. Efforts to reduce human salmonellosis in Japan should continue to focus on the establishment of control measures in laying-hen farms, especially those with windowless houses implementing induced moulting and equipped with in-line egg processing.