Protist dynamics in the eastern Tsugaru Strait, Japan from 2010 to 2018: Implications for the relationship between decadal climatology and aquaculture production.

Environmental changes such as seasonality, decadal oscillation, and anthropogenic forcing may shape the dynamics of lower trophic-level organisms. In this study, 9-years (2010-2018) of monitoring data on microscopic protists such as diatoms and dinoflagellates, and environmental variables were analyzed to clarify the relationships between plankton and local/synoptic environmental changes. We found that time-series temperature increased in May, whereas it decreased in August and November.

Age distribution of Antarctic Bottom Water off Cape Darnley, East Antarctica, estimated using chlorofluorocarbon and sulfur hexafluoride.

Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) and sulfur hexafluoride (SF) were used to investigate the timescale of Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) that spreads off Cape Darnley (CD) in East Antarctica. The age of the AABW was estimated based on the observed SF/CFC-12 ratio while taking into account tracer dilution by Lower Circumpolar Deep Water. Along the western canyons off CD and the ~ 3000 to 3500 m isobaths, the bottom water age was < 5 years, reflecting the spread of newly formed CD Bottom Water.

Topological Raman band in the carbon nanohorn.

Raman spectroscopy has been used in chemistry and physics to investigate the fundamental process involving light and phonons. The carbon nanohorn introduces a new subject to Raman spectroscopy, namely topology. We show theoretically that a photoexcited carrier with a nonzero winding number activates a topological D Raman band through the Aharonov-Bohm effect.

Optical control of edge chirality in graphene.

We performed optical annealing experiments at the edges of nanopatterned graphene to study the resultant edge reconstruction. The lithographic patterning direction was orthogonal to a zigzag edge. μ-Raman spectroscopy shows an increase in the polarization contrast of the G band as a function of annealing time.

[Present status and future prospects of nutritional support teams].

Academic interest in nutritional support teams (NSTs) has increased rapidly in Japan since 1999, when they were first planned by the Japanese Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (JSPEN). The JSPEN promoted their use extensively after 2006 when extra medical fees were approved for medical management by NSTs under the national health insurance system. The purpose of NSTs is to provide the best nutritional support to patients who are malnourished or at high risk of developing malnutrition, without causing conflict among different medical staff.

Electronic states of graphene nanoribbons and analytical solutions.

Graphene is a one-atom-thick layer of graphite, where low-energy electronic states are described by the massless Dirac fermion. The orientation of the graphene edge determines the energy spectrum of π-electrons. For example, zigzag edges possess localized edge states with energies close to the Fermi level.

Electrochemical charging of individual single-walled carbon nanotubes.

The influence of the electrode potential on the electronic structure of individual single-walled carbon nanotubes is studied using Raman spectroscopy. By analyzing the radial breathing mode intensity versus electrode potential profiles in the Raman spectra at many different laser excitation energies, we show that the charging of individual carbon nanotubes causes a broadening of the resonant Raman profiles (resonance window). This effect is observed for both a semiconducting and a metallic tube.

Hamiltonian decomposition for bulk and surface states.

We demonstrate that a tight-binding Hamiltonian with nearest- and next-nearest-neighbor hopping integrals can be decomposed into bulk and boundary parts for honeycomb lattice systems. The Hamiltonian decomposition reveals that next-nearest-neighbor hopping causes sizable changes in the energy spectrum of surface states even if the correction to the energy spectrum of bulk states is negligible. By applying the Hamiltonian decomposition to edge states in graphene systems, we show that the next-nearest-neighbor hopping stabilizes the edge states.

Reconstruction of the inferior alveolar nerve by autologous graft: a retrospective study of 20 cases examining donor nerve length.

The purpose of this study was to confirm the length and kind of donor nerves used in nerve grafts for reconstruction of inferior alveolar nerve defects. The authors conducted a retrospective study of surgeries that were performed between 1977 and 1996. A total of 20 patients underwent nerve grafting procedures during this period.

Bile canalicular barrier function and expression of tight-junctional molecules in rat hepatocytes during common bile duct ligation.

Tight junctions of hepatocytes form the intercellular barrier between the blood circulation and bile flow. We focused on early stages of common bile duct ligation to observe changes in tight junctions without the irreversible changes seen after lengthy ligation. Common bile ducts of 12-week-old male rats were ligated for 6 h because, at this time point, no histological changes were observed.