Observation of morphological changes in silicon-based negative-electrode active materials during charging/discharging using operando scanning electron microscopy.

The direct observation of the morphological changes in silicon-based negative electrode (Si-based negative electrode) materials during battery charging and discharging is useful for handling such materials and in electrode plate design. We developed an operando scanning electron microscopy (operando SEM) technique to quantitatively evaluate the expansion and contraction of Si-based negative electrode materials. A small all-solid-state lithium-ion battery was charged and discharged, and the expansion/contraction of particles while harnessing capacity was observed using SEM.

Preparation and Application of Decanoic Acid/Arginine Hydrogels to a Transdermal Formulation.

We prepared a supramolecular hydrogel composed of decanoic acid and arginine (C10/Arg gel) and evaluated its application to a transdermal formulation. C10/Arg gel adjusted to pH 7 with 1 M NaOH aq or 1 M HCl aq provided a translucent hydrogel with a lamellar liquid crystal structure in the concentration region of decanoic acid ≥12% and arginine ≤9%. Rheological measurements showed that C10/Arg gel is a viscoelastic material with both solid and liquid properties, with elasticity being dominant over viscosity in the low shear stress region.

Production and Chemical Characterization of Silage from Saccharine Sorghum Fertirrigated with Sugarcane Vinasse.

Background: Distillery vinasse is one of the promising bio-fertilizers, as it contains significant amounts of essential chemical elements, allied with sorghum that is widely used in the diet of ruminant animals and has been considered as an alternative to the production of other cereals or forages. This study aimed to evaluate saccharin sorghum silage from fertilization with vinasse.

Methods: The research was conducted using the BRS-511, CR-1339, and CR-1342 geno-types.

Effect of rumen microbiota transfaunation on the growth, rumen fermentation, and microbial community of early separated Japanese Black cattle.

This study aimed to investigate the effect of rumen microbiota transfaunation on the growth, rumen fermentation, and the microbial community of Japanese Black cattle that were separated early from their dams. Here, 24 calves were separated from their dams immediately after calving, 12 of which were transfaunated via inoculation with rumen fluid from adult cattle at the age of 2 months while the remaining 12 were kept unfaunated (not-inoculated). Feed efficiency monitoring was performed during 7-10 months of age.

Venovenous Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation for Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Due to Severe Fever With Thrombocytopenia Syndrome.

Few cases of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) have been treated with venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO), and its role remains unclear. A 73-year-old Japanese woman presented with multiple organ failure (MOF) due to SFTS, including liver, neural, hematologic, renal, and ARDS. VV-ECMO for refractory hypoxemia under lung-protective ventilation with prone positioning led to gradual respiratory improvement, and she was successfully weaned on the 19th day of hospitalization.

Significant dependency of left atrial strain on left ventricular longitudinal motion.

Background: The effects of left ventricular longitudinal function on the left atrial strain, including the left atrial reservoir function, have not been adequately quantified.

Methods: A total of 124 patients who underwent echocardiography were enrolled in this study. Left atrial strain analysis was performed using two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography, and the left atrial volume was derived using the modified Simpson's method.

Observation of large spin conversion anisotropy in bismuth.

While the effective -factor can be anisotropic due to the spin-orbit interaction (SOI), its existence in solids cannot be simply asserted from a band structure, which hinders progress on studies from such viewpoints. The effective -factor in bismuth (Bi) is largely anisotropic; especially for holes at -point, the effective -factor perpendicular to the trigonal axis is negligibly small (<0.112), whereas the effective -factor along the trigonal axis is very large (62.

Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in adults after acute coronavirus disease 2019 in a Japanese woman: A case report.

Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in adults (MIS-A) is a rare and emerging syndrome after coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). To the best of our knowledge, Japanese cases of MIS-A are rarely reported. Here, we describe a case of MIS-A in a 44-year-old Japanese woman presenting with multiorgan dysfunction (i.

Importance of left ventricular contraction for left atrial reservoir function.

Background: The determinants of left atrial (LA) reservoir function have not been clarified.

Methods: To elucidate the effect of left ventricular (LV) contraction on LA reservoir volume (ΔV), volume change due to mitral annular downward motion and aortic root anterior motion, which are related to LV contraction during systole, was calculated in 72 consecutive subjects [42 patients without any cardiac disease (control group), 13 patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF group) and 17 with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF group)]. LA volume was calculated using the modified Simpson's method of bi-plane 2-D echocardiograms.

Histopathological study of encephalomalacia in neonatal calves and application of neuronal and axonal degeneration marker.

Five calves that had shown neurological symptoms within 9 days after birth were histopathologically diagnosed as encephalomalacia. Two calves showed bilateral laminar cerebrocortical necrosis and neuronal necrosis in the corpus striatum and hippocampus. Since the distributional pattern of the lesions was consistent with that of global ischemia in other species, the lesions were probably hypoxic/ischemic encephalopathy consistent with the history of dystocia and perinatal asphyxia.

Factors Associated With Psycho-Cognitive Functions in Patients With Persistent Pain After Surgery for Femoral Neck Fracture.

Background: The aim of the study was to address issues arising from fracture of the femoral neck in elderly individuals, the prevalence of which continues to increase in Japan. The prevalence is increasing in Japan and there have been many reports on physical functions such as prevention of a fall. However, there have been a few studies that focus on psycho-cognitive functions.

Periventricular leukomalacia in a neonatal calf.

A 10-day-old, Japanese Black, female calf had shown astasia since just after birth. Focal symmetrical periventricular malacic lesions of the cerebrum and suppurative arthritis of the left hip joint were observed in macroscopic examination. Histologically, the cerebral lesions were confirmed as periventricular leukomalacia (PVL).

Patients with MAC Lung Disease Have a Low Visceral Fat Area and Low Nutrient Intake.

Objective: This study aimed to examine the nutritional status and nutrient intake of patients with MAC lung disease with a focus on visceral fat area.

Patients And Methods: Among 116 patients of our hospital with nontuberculous mycobacteriosis who were registered between May 2010 and August 2011, 103 patients with MAC lung disease were included in this study. In all patients, nutritional status and nutrient intake were prospectively examined.

Solitary Hepatic Eosinophilic Granuloma Accompanied by Eosinophilia Without Parasitosis: Report of a Case.

A 43-year-old Japanese woman visited for a hepatic tumor incidentally found. We suspected eosinophilic granuloma of the liver (EGL) due to visceral larva migrans (VLM). However, neither past history nor medical interview indicated a risk of parasitosis.

Cholangiocarcinoma in a middle-aged patient working at a printing plant.

A 39-year-old male with elevated serum transferases consulted our hospital in September 2010. Since 1999, he had worked at a printing company using organic solvents. Cholangiography revealed stenosis of the left hepatic duct with peripheral dilation, stricture of the right hepatic duct, and irregularity of the extrahepatic bile duct.

Carcinosarcoma of the liver: report of a case.

A 64-year-old Japanese woman without a history of viral hepatitis was admitted for investigation of a huge liver mass. The tumor, measuring 14 × 12 × 22 cm, had invaded the diaphragm, right lung, and inferior vena cava. Serum examinations demonstrated high levels of carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9), and the Child-Pugh score was A.

Genetic diversity of Theileria orientalis in tick vectors detected in Hokkaido and Okinawa, Japan.

In the present study, we investigated the possible tick vectors that can transmit Theileria orientalis in eastern Hokkaido, Japan. Questing ticks collected from three different districts, Taiki, Otofuke, and Shin-Hidaka, of Hokkaido included Ixodes persulcatus, Haemaphysalis megaspinosa, Haemaphysalis douglasi, and Ixodes ovatus, while all the ticks collected from Yonaguni island of Okinawa were identified as Haemaphysalis longicornis. When the ticks were screened by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for T.

Ca2+ channel currents in dorsal root ganglion neurons of P/Q-type voltage-gated Ca2+ channel mutant mouse, rolling mouse Nagoya.

The role of the P/Q-type voltage-gated Ca(2+) channels (VGCCs) in release of neurotransmitters involved in nociception is not fully understood. Rolling mouse Nagoya (tg(rol)), a P/Q-type channel mutant mouse, expresses P/Q-type VGCC whose activation curve has a higher half activation potential and a smaller slope factor than the wild type channel. We previously reported that tg(rol) mice showed hypoalgesic responses to noxious stimuli.

Determination of chromium(III), chromium(VI) and total chromium in chromate and trivalent chromium conversion coatings by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry.

Developed were the determination methods of Cr(VI) and Cr(III) by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, where HCrO(4)(-) (m/z 117) and [Cr(III)(cydta)](-) (m/z 394) were measured, respectively. Moreover, total Cr was also determined by measuring [Cr(III)(cydta)](-) after reduction of Cr(VI) with ascorbic acid. Here, cydta denotes trans-1,2-diaminocyclohexane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid.

Sorption characteristics of fluoride on to magnesium oxide-rich phases calcined at different temperatures.

The effect of calcination temperature during production of magnesium oxide-rich phases from MgCO(3) on the sorption of F(-) ions in the aqueous phase has been investigated. Magnesium oxide-rich phases were formed by calcination at over 873 K for 1h. Higher calcination temperatures produced more crystalline MgO with smaller specific surface area and provided larger values of the total basicity per unit surface area.

Asymmetric total synthesis of (+)-hexachlorosulfolipid, a cytotoxin isolated from Adriatic mussels.

The enantioselective total synthesis of (+)-hexachlorosulfolipid, a cytotoxin found in the Adriatic mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis, is described. The unique chlorinated hydrocarbon motif of the lipid is successfully furnished by a series of dichlorination reactions of chiral epoxides with chlorophosphonium reagent generated in situ from Ph(3)P/NCS. The present total synthesis has allowed the confirmation of the absolute configuration of the natural cytotoxic (+)-hexachlorosulfolipid originally proposed by Fattorusso, Ciminiello, and co-workers.

Huge liver abscess radiologically mimicking cystadenocarcinoma.

A 72-old-year Japanese man was incidentally found to have out liver dysfunction on serum examination and a cystic tumor in the liver. Dynamic computed tomography revealed a solitary cystic tumor 14 cm in diameter with multiple septa. The cyst wall was occasionally irregular with hyperarterial inflow.