Initial adjustments in the dosage and rest period of gemcitabine plus cisplatin therapy for patients with incurable biliary tract cancer based on baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) values may be crucial for treatment outcomes and the preservation of renal function.

Background: Gemcitabine (GEM) and cisplatin (CDDP) combination therapy (GC therapy) is the standard 1st-line regimen for incurable biliary tract cancers (BTCs). However, the correlation between dynamic changes in renal function and the outcomes of GC therapy remains unclear. This study aimed to clarify the association between renal function alterations and treatment outcomes after GC therapy.

Interrelation of the stagnant slab, Ontong Java Plateau, and intraplate volcanism as inferred from seismic tomography.

We investigated the seismological structure beneath the equatorial Melanesian region, where is tectonically unique because an immense oceanic plateau, a volcanic chain and subduction zones meet. We conducted a multi-frequency P-wave tomography using data collected from an approximately 2-year-long seismic experiment around the Ontong Java Plateau (OJP). High-velocity anomalies were revealed beneath the center of the OJP at a depth of ~ 150 km, the middle-eastern edge of the OJP at depths of 200-300 km, and in the mantle transition zone beneath and around the OJP; low-velocity anomalies were observed along the Caroline volcanic island chain above 450 km depth.

Melatonin Treatment and Adequate Sleep Hygiene Interventions in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Robust clinical evidence has not been available for melatonin, a drug commonly administered for treating sleep problems of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In a phase 3 randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial, we administered 1-mg melatonin (n = 65), 4-mg melatonin (n = 65), or placebo (n = 66) to196 children with ASD once daily before bedtime under adequate sleep hygiene interventions. The primary outcome was sleep onset latency (SOL) assessed with the electronic sleep diary.

Long-term melatonin treatment for the sleep problems and aberrant behaviors of children with neurodevelopmental disorders.

Background: Clinical evidence is required about the long-term efficacy and safety of melatonin treatment for sleep problems in children with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) who underwent adequate sleep hygiene interventions.

Methods: We conducted a 26-week, multicenter, collaborative, uncontrolled, open-label, phase III clinical trial of melatonin granules in children 6 to 15 years of age who had NDDs and sleep problems. The study consisted of the 2-week screening phase, the 26-week medication phases I and II, and the 2-week follow-up phase.

Mechanism of the 2015 volcanic tsunami earthquake near Torishima, Japan.

Tsunami earthquakes are a group of enigmatic earthquakes generating disproportionally large tsunamis relative to seismic magnitude. These events occur most typically near deep-sea trenches. Tsunami earthquakes occurring approximately every 10 years near Torishima on the Izu-Bonin arc are another example.

High-speed broadband elastic actuator in water using induced-charge electro-osmosis with a skew structure.

An artificial cilium using ac electro-osmosis (ACEO) is attractive because of its large potentiality for innovative microfluidic applications. However, the ACEO cilium has not been probed experimentally and has a shortcoming that the working frequency range is very narrow. Thus, we here propose an ACEO elastic actuator having a skew structure that broadens a working frequency range and experimentally demonstrate that the elastic actuator in water can be driven with a high-speed (∼10 Hz) and a wide frequency range (∼0.

Giant rhyolite lava dome formation after 7.3 ka supereruption at Kikai caldera, SW Japan.

Kikai submarine caldera to the south of the Kyushu Island, SW Japan, collapsed at 7.3 ka during the latest supereruption (>500 km of magma) in the Japanese Archipelago. Multi functional research surveys of the T/S Fukae Maru in this caldera, including multi-beam echosounder mapping, remotely operated vehicle observation, multi-channel seismic reflection survey, and rock sampling by dredging and diving, provided lines of evidence for creation of a giant rhyolite lava dome (~32 km) after the caldera collapse.

Determination of intrinsic attenuation in the oceanic lithosphere-asthenosphere system.

We recorded and waves traveling through the oceanic lithosphere-asthenosphere system (LAS) using broadband ocean-bottom seismometers in the northwest Pacific, and we quantitatively separated the intrinsic (anelastic) and extrinsic (scattering) attenuation effects on seismic wave propagation to directly infer the thermomechanical properties of the oceanic LAS. The strong intrinsic attenuation in the asthenosphere obtained at higher frequency (~3 hertz) is comparable to that constrained at lower frequency (~100 seconds) by surface waves and suggests frequency-independent anelasticity, whereas the intrinsic attenuation in the lithosphere is frequency dependent. This difference in frequency dependence indicates that the strong and broad peak dissipation recently observed in the laboratory exists only in the asthenosphere and provides new insight into what distinguishes the asthenosphere from the lithosphere.

Direct simulation of phase delay effects on induced-charge electro-osmosis under large ac electric fields.

The standard theory of induced-charge electro-osmosis (ICEO) often overpredicts experimental values of ICEO velocities. Using a nonsteady direct multiphysics simulation technique based on the coupled Poisson-Nernst-Planck and Stokes equations for an electrolyte around a conductive cylinder subject to an ac electric field, we find that a phase delay effect concerning an ion response provides a fundamental mechanism for electrokinetic suppression. A surprising aspect of our findings is that the phase delay effect occurs even at much lower frequencies (e.

Strategies on improving the micro-fluidic devices using the nonlinear electro- and thermo-kinetic phenomena.

Surface science is key to innovations on microfluidics, smart materials, and future non-equilibrium systems. However, challenging issues still exist in this field. In this article, from the viewpoint of the fundamental design, we will briefly review our strategies on improving the micro-fluidic devices using the nonlinear electro- and thermo-kinetic phenomena.

dc Step response of induced-charge electro-osmosis between parallel electrodes at large voltages.

Induced-charge electro-osmosis (ICEO) is important since it can be used for realizing high performance microfluidic devices. Here, we analyze the simplest problem of ion relaxation around a circular polarizable cylinder between parallel blocking electrodes in a closed cell by using a multiphysics coupled simulation technique. This technique is based on a combination of the finite-element method and finite-volume method for the Poisson-Nernst-Planck (PNP) equations having a flow term and the Stokes equation having an electric stress term.

Nonlinear thermokinetic phenomena due to the Seebeck effect.

We propose a novel mechanism to produce nonlinear thermokinetic vortex flows around a circular cylinder with ideally high thermal conductivity in an electrolyte. That is, the nonlinear thermokinetic slip velocity, which is proportional to the square of the temperature gradient [∇(T)0(2)], is derived based on the electrolyte Seebeck effect, heat conduction equation, and Helmholtz–Smoluchowski formula. Different from conventional linear thermokinetic theory, our theory predicts that the inversion of the temperature gradient does not change the direction of the thermokinetic flows and thus a Janus particle using this phenomenon can move to the both hotter and colder regions in a temperature gradient field by changing the direction of its dielectric end.

Tsunami: ocean dynamo generator.

Secondary magnetic fields are induced by the flow of electrically conducting seawater through the Earth's primary magnetic field ('ocean dynamo effect'), and hence it has long been speculated that tsunami flows should produce measurable magnetic field perturbations, although the signal-to-noise ratio would be small because of the influence of the solar magnetic fields. Here, we report on the detection of deep-seafloor electromagnetic perturbations of 10-micron-order induced by a tsunami, which propagated through a seafloor electromagnetometer array network. The observed data extracted tsunami characteristics, including the direction and velocity of propagation as well as sea-level change, first to verify the induction theory.

Ion-conserving Poisson-Boltzmann theory.

It is well known that the Poisson-Nernst-Planck (PNP) theory and the classical Gouy-Chapman theory are inconsistent at a high applied voltage. For solving this problem, we propose an ion-conserving Poisson-Boltzmann theory, which shows remarkable agreement with the numerical PNP solutions, even at a high applied voltage. In other words, we have found the exact analytical solutions for steady PNP equations; we believe that this finding greatly contributes to understanding surface science between solids and liquids.

Therapeutic efficacy of acotiamide in patients with functional dyspepsia based on enhanced postprandial gastric accommodation and emptying: randomized controlled study evaluation by real-time ultrasonography.

Background: Improvement in subjective symptoms has been reported in functional dyspepsia (FD) patients administered with acotiamide. Improvement was confirmed in meal-related symptoms, such as postprandial fullness, upper abdominal bloating, and early satiety. We examined the mechanism underlying the effects of acotiamide on gastric accommodation reflex (GAR) and gastroduodenal motility in FD patients.

Asymmetrical reverse vortex flow due to induced-charge electro-osmosis around carbon stacking structures.

Broken symmetry of vortices due to induced-charge electro-osmosis (ICEO) around stacking structures is important for the generation of a large net flow in a microchannel. Following theoretical predictions in our previous study, we herein report experimental observations of asymmetrical reverse vortex flows around stacking structures of carbon posts with a large height (~110 μm) in water, prepared by the pyrolysis of a photoresist film in a reducing gas. Further, by the use of a coupled calculation method that considers boundary effects precisely, the experimental results, except for the problem of anomalous flow reversal, are successfully explained.

Rotation of a microvalve near conductive electrodes via induced-charge electrophoresis.

The development of a high-speed microactuator in water is difficult because of hydrodynamic resistance and the lack of the knowledge of complex electrostatic problems combined with flow fields and ion dynamics. Previously, to overcome these problems, we proposed rotary microvalves in water using hydrodynamic force due to induced-charge electrophoresis (ICEP). In this study, by using an elliptical conductive carbon element fabricated by the pyrolysis of a photoresist film coated with gold, we experimentally demonstrate that microvalves can rotate near conductive electrodes.

Evidence for infragravity wave-tide resonance in deep oceans.

Ocean tides are the oscillatory motions of seawater forced by the gravitational attraction of the Moon and Sun with periods of a half to a day and wavelengths of the semi-Pacific to Pacific scale. Ocean infragravity (IG) waves are sea-surface gravity waves with periods of several minutes and wavelengths of several dozen kilometres. Here we report the first evidence of the resonance between these two ubiquitous phenomena, mutually very different in period and wavelength, in deep oceans.

Chaotic mixer using electro-osmosis at finite Péclet number.

Two pressure-driven streams of two miscible liquids can only mix by diffusion in microfluidic channels because of the low Reynolds number. We present an idea to generate mixing by "chaotic advection" in microscale geometries. That is, we consider using induced-charge electro-osmosis to generate a second flow and then modulate between the pressure-driven and induced-charge flows.

High-speed rotary microvalves in water using hydrodynamic force due to induced-charge electrophoresis.

The development of a high-speed microactuator in water is difficult because of electrostatic problems and hydrodynamic resistance. To overcome these problems, we consider using induced-charge electrophoresis (ICEP) to move actuators. We propose rotary microvalves in water using hydrodynamic force due to ICEP and numerically examine the performance of valves.

Microcolumn formation between electrodes in a narrow channel from metallic colloidal suspension through induced-charge electrophoresis.

It is desirable to achieve the self-organization of a microcolumn between electrodes in a flow channel because the microcolumn can be used as a biosensor with high sensitivity. A direct simulation of a dispersed system of metallic particles in water is performed to show that a microcolumn between electrodes is formed by the application of an ac electric field. By the multiphysics coupled simulation technique between fluidics and electrostatics based on the boundary element method along with the double layer approximation, we find that microcolumns are formed by the growth of clusters perpendicular to the electrodes under the condition that the number density of particles is larger than the percolation threshold.

Suppression of reverse flows in pumping by induced-charge electro-osmosis using asymmetrically stacked elliptical metal posts.

Several researchers have analyzed pumps that employ induced-charge electro-osmosis (ICEO) using mainly coplanar electrode array structures in a lateral electric field. We propose ICEO pumps that remove reverse flows using asymmetrically stacked elliptical metal posts and numerically examine the pumping performance. By the boundary element method along with double layer approximation, we find that the asymmetrical stacking configuration efficiently suppresses the unwanted reverse flow and yields velocities of the order of a few millimeters per second, and this configuration is compatible with that of an optimized half-coating pump.

Monitoring of DSP toxins in small-sized plankton fraction of seawater collected in Mutsu Bay, Japan, by ELISA method: relation with toxin contamination of scallop.

Monitorings were conducted on DSP toxins in mid-gut gland of scallop (mouse assay), cell numbers of toxic dinoflagellate species of Dinophysis, and diarrhetic shellfish poisoning (DSP) toxins in small-sized (0.7-5 microm) plankton fraction of seawater collected from surface (0 m) and 20 m depth at a station in Mutsu Bay, Aomori Prefecture, Japan, in 2000. A specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was employed for the analysis of DSP toxins in small-sized plankton fraction using a mouse monoclonal anti-okadaic acid antibody which recognizes okadaic acid, dinophysistoxin-1, and dinophysistoxin-3.

Temperature effect on formation of sodium cholate micelles.

The micellization of sodium cholate (NaC) at 293.2, 298.2, 303.

Temperature effect on solubilization of n-alkylbenzenes into sodium cholate micelles.

The solubilization of n-alkylbenzenes (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, n-propylbenzene, n-butylbenzene, n-pentylbenzene, n-hexylbenzene) into an aqueous micellar solution of sodium cholate was carried out. Solubilizate concentrations at equilibrium were determined spectrophotometrically at 293.2, 298.