To classify the clinical characteristics of ocular toxocariasis in Japan, the prevalence of antibodies to Toxocara antigens was examined in patients with uveitis of unknown aetiology. From 1982 to 1993, serum specimens of 383 cases and intraocular fluid samples of 22 cases were serologically screened for Toxocara infection with five immunodiagnostic tests. Fifty-five sera and 11 intravitreous fluid samples were estimated to have significantly high antibody levels against larval excretory–secretory (ES) antigens of T. canis. Eight cases were positive in both serum and vitreous fluid, and three were positive only in the vitreous fluid. Among the 58 antibody positive samples, 20 cases were omitted due to a lack of detailed description of ocular findings. The remaining 38 cases are described in this study. Of these 38 cases, 34 (89%) were older than 20 years of age. Ocular lesions were located in the posterior fundus in 11 cases, in the peripheral fundus in 18 cases, and in both areas in seven cases. Of the eight cases in which papillary oedema or redness was observed, chorioretinal lesions were also present in seven of them. Tractional retinal detachment was present in five cases. These observations suggest that ocular toxocariasis in Japan has a different clinical profile compared with those in the other countries, and indicate a need for revised classification of ocular toxocariasis.

We present observations of the Mopra carbon monoxide (CO) survey of the Southern Galactic Plane, covering Galactic longitudes spanning $l = 250^{\circ}$ ($-110^{\circ}$) to $l = 355^{\circ}$ ($-5^{\circ}$), with a latitudinal coverage of at least $|b|<1^\circ$, totalling an area of $>$210 deg$^{2}$. These data have been taken at 0.6 arcmin spatial resolution and 0.1 km s$^{-1}$ spectral resolution, providing an unprecedented view of the molecular gas clouds of the Southern Galactic Plane in the 109–115 GHz $J = 1-0$ transitions of $^{12}$CO, $^{13}$CO, C$^{18}$O, and C$^{17}$O.

Background: Chronic intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) is used to treat refractory myasthenia gravis (MG). This subgroup analysis evaluated response to eculizumab in patients receiving chronic IVIg before entry to REGAIN, a phase 3, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of eculizumab in anti-acetylcholine receptor antibody-positive refractory generalized MG. Methods: IVIg was only permitted during REGAIN as rescue therapy; previously treated patients underwent a 4-week washout before randomization. Patients included in this analysis had received chronic IVIg ≥4 times in 1 year, with ≥1 dose within 6 months before REGAIN entry. Exacerbations and MG status changes were assessed. Results: Eighteen patients were evaluated; four experienced exacerbations (eculizumab-treated, 1/9; placebo-treated, 3/9). Clinically relevant improvements were larger with eculizumab than placebo, respectively (mean change, standard deviation [SD]: MG Activities of Daily Living score [MG-ADL], -5.3 [4.0] vs -2.1 [2.8]; Quantitative MG score [QMG], -4.1 [6.1] vs -1.3 [3.5]). More patients receiving eculizumab (7/9) had clinically meaningful responses (MG-ADL ≥3 and/or QMG ≥5 points) than those receiving placebo (3/9). Eculizumab safety was consistent with previous reports. Interim data from the open-label extension of REGAIN will be presented. Conclusions: In patients previously receiving chronic IVIg, eculizumab showed a trend toward meaningful clinical improvements and fewer exacerbations compared with placebo. (NCT01997229, NCT02301624).

Background: Patients with anti-acetylcholine receptor antibody-positive (AChR+) generalized myasthenia gravis (MG) unresponsive to conventional treatment experience greater disease burden than responsive patients. This is partly due to exacerbations, which may result in significant healthcare resource utilization. Eculizumab is well tolerated and gives clinically meaningful benefits in these patients. We evaluated the effect of long-term eculizumab treatment on exacerbations, hospitalizations and rescue therapy in the REGAIN study and its open-label extension. Methods: Exacerbations were defined as clinical worsening/deterioration, MG crises or rescue therapy usage; pre-study exacerbations/hospitalizations were defined from patient records. Event rates adjusted for patient-years were calculated for all patients in the pre-study year, patients receiving placebo during REGAIN, and patients receiving eculizumab during REGAIN and its open-label extension (median exposure, 27.5 months [range, 22 days–42.8 months]); rates were compared using a Poisson regression model. Results: Eculizumab treatment reduced exacerbations by 65% (p=0.0057), hospitalizations by 71% (p=0.0316) and rescue therapy use by 66% (p=0.0072) versus placebo. Eculizumab treatment reduced exacerbations by 74% and hospitalizations by 83% (both p<0.0001) versus the pre-study year. Conclusions: Long-term eculizumab treatment reduces disease burden and healthcare resource utilization, demonstrating continuing improvements in clinical endpoints that lead to additional meaningful outcomes for patients with AChR+ generalized MG. (NCT01997229, NCT02301624).

Smectites in the montmorillonite-beidellite pseudo-binary system were synthesized from glass at the hydrothermal conditions 100 MPa and 250–500°C. Products were analysed by X-ray powder diffraction for randomly oriented and glycolated samples, and also according to the Greene-Kelly test. A new mixed-layer mineral consisting of regularly interstratified montmorillonite-beidellite was found below 400°C for M50B50 composition, where M and B denote the compositions of ideal Na-montmorillonite and Na-beidellite, respectively. Montmorillonite was obtained as a single phase below 375°C in the composition range from M100B0 to M78B22. Above 375°C, montmorillonite decomposed into an assemblage of beidellite, saponite and a silica mineral. Beidellite as a single phase was synthesized below 400°C for M0B100 composition. Above 450°C, Na-rectorite (regularly interstratified paragonite-beidellite), Mg-free dioctahedral smectite and/or Mg-rich trioctahedral smectite appeared together with silica minerals. These smectites showed the same swelling behaviour as that of montmorillonite. Phase relations in the montmorillonite-beidellite pseudo-binary system indicate no complete solid-solution series.

A deep ice core drilled to 2503 m depth at Dome Fuji, Antarctica, contains 25 visible tephra layers during the past 340 ka. The thickness of tephra layers is in the range 1-24 mm. The thickness and duration at deposition, determined by a simple ice-flow model, suggests that a violent volcanic eruption caused ash to fall onto the Antarctic ice sheet for ~5 years and to form a ~100 mm thick tephra layer at 117 ka BE Two tephra layers at depths of 573 and 2202 m probably originated from volcanoes in the South Sandwich Islands, Southern Ocean, given the size of tephra shards, >20μm in diameter, and their major chemical composition. Only eight of the 25 tephra layers can also be recognized in the Vostok (Antarctica) ice core, but all correspond to the Vostok tephras if we consider cloudy bands to be volcanic.

An X-ray transmission method has been developed to obtain a continuous profile of bulk densities of ice cores. Intensities of X-rays transmitted through an ice-core sample were continuously measured by an X-ray detector during translation of the sample across the X-ray beam. A thick section of an ice core with a constant thickness was prepared by band-sawing followed by microtome planing. The X-ray intensity profile obtained was converted to a density profile using a calibration curve for X-ray absorption vs ice thickness. Using this method, spatial resolution of the density profile was down to 1 mm. X-ray radiographs were also taken on a two-dimensional detector imaging plate, in order to observe layer structures of the ice cores.

The method was applied to Dome Fuji (Antarctica) ice cores from the surface to 110 m depth. From the density profile obtained we calculated the power spectrum of the density variation by the discrete Fourier transform, and obtained several peaks at different frequencies. The center period in the spectrum was close to the annual accumulation thickness at the drill site.

The Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition (JARE) has set up automatic weather stations at six sites on a 1000 km long traverse route between Syowa station (21 ma.s.l..) and Dome Fuji station (3810 ma.s.l.) since 1993. Large temperature rises in winter were observed several times in this area. There were two patterns of time delay of the temperature rises. One was that the temperature rise at Mizuho station preceded that at other stations, and the other was that the temperature rise at Dome Fuji station preceded the others. The former occurred when a disturbance came from the coast between east Enderby Land and the Amery Ice Shelf and strong winds destroyed the stable inversion layer. The latter occurred when the low-pressure center was near the coast of west Wilkes Land. in this case, temperature rise was caused by adveclion of warm air. The atmospheric pressure at Dome Fuji station and Relay Point oscillated with a period of 0.5 year and amplitude of about 15hPa. The pressure was higher in July and December, and was accompanied by a temperature rise. Fluctuations of hourly air temperature at Dome Fuji station were approximately twice as large as fluctuations at the other sites. The lapse rale of the annual mean temperature increased with elevation, while the monthly lapse rate was largest in April.

Documenting past changes in the East Antarctic surface mass balance is important to improve ice core chronologies and to constrain the ice-sheet contribution to global mean sea-level change. Here we reconstruct past changes in the ratio of surface mass balance (SMB ratio) between the EPICA Dome C (EDC) and Dome Fuji (DF) East Antarctica ice core sites, based on a precise volcanic synchronization of the two ice cores and on corrections for the vertical thinning of layers. During the past 216 000 a, this SMB ratio, denoted SMBEDC/SMBDF, varied between 0.7 and 1.1, being small during cold periods and large during warm periods. Our results therefore reveal larger amplitudes of changes in SMB at EDC compared with DF, consistent with previous results showing larger amplitudes of changes in water stable isotopes and estimated surface temperature at EDC compared with DF. Within the last glacial inception (Marine Isotope Stages, MIS-5c and MIS-5d), the SMB ratio deviates by up to 0.2 from what is expected based on differences in water stable isotope records. Moreover, the SMB ratio is constant throughout the late parts of the current and last interglacial periods, despite contrasting isotopic trends.

A system enabling X-ray diffraction patterns under controlled conditions of relative humidity and temperature has been devised and combined with an X-ray powder diffractometer. Relative humidity in the sample space is controlled by mixing dry N2 gas with saturated water vapor. Temperatures of the sample and inner wall of the sample chamber are monitored by two attached thermocouples and the information was fed back to the control unit. Relative humidity between 0% and the 95%, and temperature between room temperature and 60 °C can be controlled. All parameters including those for XRD are programmable and the system runs automatically. The function of the system was checked by recording the XRD patterns of montmorillonite (a clay mineral) and NaCl under increasing and decreasing relative humidity.

The current trends in stimulated Brillouin scattering and optical phase conjugation are overviewed. This report is formed by the selected papers presented in the “Fifth International Workshop on stimulated Brillouin scattering and phase conjugation 2010” in Japan. The nonlinear properties of phase conjugation based on stimulated Brillouin scattering and photo-refraction can compensate phase distortions in the high power laser systems, and they will also open up potentially novel laser technologies, e.g., phase stabilization, beam combination, pulse compression, ultrafast pulse shaping, and arbitrary waveform generation.

Epitaxial Fe-Te-Se thin films were deposited by pulsed laser deposition at 250 ~ 600 °C on SrTiO3 (100, STO), MgO (100), LaAlO3 (100, LAO) and CaF2 (100) single crystal substrates. Best superconducting film was grown on CaF2: Tconset = 20.0 K and Tc0 = 16.18 K with Tdep = 300 °C, 45000 pulses, 3 Hz. The critical current density Jc at 4.2 K was 0.41×106A/cm2 at 0 T and 0.23×106 A/cm2 at 9 T. Angular dependence of Jc showed broad c-axis correlated peak when B ≥ 3 T.

Maternal food restriction is known to cause developmental hypertension in offspring. We have previously shown that maternal high-protein diet can reverse fetal programming of hypertension and that branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) concentrations in maternal and fetal plasma were increased by maternal high-protein intake. Then, we hypothesized that isocaloric supplementation with BCAA to a maternal food restriction can reverse the adverse outcome. Pregnant rats were divided into four groups at 7.5 days postcoitum: normally nourished (NN) and 70% undernourished (UN) groups with and without BCAA supplementation (NN–standard diet (SD), NN–BCAA, UN–SD and UN–BCAA groups). Compared with pups in the NN groups, those in the UN–SD group had significantly increased systolic blood pressure (SBP) at 8 and 16 weeks of age (P < 0.05). However, the elevation of SBP was not observed in offspring in the UN–BCAA group. Offspring glomeruli number of the UN groups was significantly lower (P < 0.05) than that of the NN groups, independent of BCAA supplementation. Angiotensin II receptor type 2 (ATR2) mRNA and protein expression in the kidney was significantly augmented in the UN–BCAA group at 30 weeks of age. In conclusion, BCAA supplementation during maternal food restriction prevents developmental hypertension together with increased ATR2 expression in adult offspring kidney.