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The earliest colonisation of oceanic islands by Homo sapiens occurred ~50 000–30 000 years ago in the Western Pacific, yet how this was achieved remains a matter of debate. With a focus on East Asia, the research presented here tests the hypothesis that bamboo rafts were used for these early maritime migrations. The authors review the evidence for Palaeolithic seafaring in East Asia as the context for an experimental archaeology project to build two bamboo watercraft. Sea trials demonstrate the unsuitability of bamboo, at least in East Asia, indicating that more sophisticated and durable vessels would have been required to traverse the Kuroshio Current.
Neuroimaging studies of depression considered as a stress-related disorder have shown uncoupling in regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) and regional cerebral metabolic rate for glucose (rCMRglc). We hypothesised that the mismatch change of rCBF and rCMRglc could be a stress-related phenomenon.
Methods
We exposed male rats to 15-min period of forced swim (FS), followed by the measurement of rCBF using N-isopropyl-4-[123I] iodoamphetamine (123I-IMP) and rCMRglc using 2-deoxy-2-[18F] fluoro-D-glucose (18F-FDG).
Results
The uptake rate of 18F-FDG in the FS group showed a significant decrease in the prefrontal cortex (0.86±0.20%ID/g, p<0.01) and thalamus (0.77±0.17%ID/g, p<0.05) and tended to be lower in the hippocampus (0.58±0.13%ID/g) and cerebellum (0.59±0.13%ID/g) without overt alteration in the uptake rate of 123I-IMP.
Conclusions
The FS stress can cause mismatch change of rCBF and rCMRglc, which reflect a stress-related phenomenon.
Previous studies have reported the association between advanced paternal
age at birth and the risk of autistic-spectrum disorder in offspring,
including offspring with intellectual disability.
Aims
To test whether an association between advanced paternal age at birth is
found in offspring with high-functioning autistic-spectrum disorder (i.e.
offspring without intellectual disability).
Method
A case–control study was conducted in Japan. The participants consisted
of individuals with full-scale IQ ⩾ 70, with a DSM–IV autistic disorder
or related diagnosis. Unrelated healthy volunteers were recruited as
controls. Parental ages were divided into tertiles (i.e. three age
classes). Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were estimated using
logistic regression analyses, with an adjustment for age, gender and
birth order.
Results
Eighty-four individuals with autistic-spectrum disorder but without
intellectual disability and 208 healthy controls were enrolled. Increased
paternal, but not maternal, age was associated with an elevated risk of
high-functioning autistic-spectrum disorder. A one-level advance in
paternal age class corresponded to a 1.8-fold increase in risk, after
adjustment for covariates.
Conclusions
Advanced paternal age is associated with an increased risk for
high-functioning autistic-spectrum disorder.
Immune dysfunction has been proposed as a mechanism for the pathophysiology
of autistic-spectrum disorders. The selectin family of adhesion molecules
plays a prominent role in immune/inflammatory responses. We determined the
serum levels of three types of soluble-form selectin (sP, sL and sE) in 15
men with high-functioning autism and 22 age-matched healthy controls by
enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Levels of sP-selectin and sL-selectin
were significantly lower in patients than in controls. Furthermore,
sP-selectin levels were negatively correlated with impaired social
development during early childhood.
Thin films of boron carbide (B12+xC3-x) were prepared on glass substrates by a pulsed ion-beam evaporation method. A pulsed proton beam with an energy of 1 MV (peak) and a current of 60 kA was focused on sintered B12+xC3-x targets. Ablation plasma was formed from the irradiated targets and thin films were prepared on Pyrex and SiO2 glass substrates at room temperature. From results of X-ray diffraction, the thin films consisted of a B12+xC3-x phase. Using a known relationship between the composition and the lattice parameters, the composition of B12+x1C3-x thin films was estimated to be x = 0.3 and 1.0, which were close to the nominal composition of the targets. These results indicate that B12+x1C3-x with different carbon contents has been successfully prepared by IBE without substrate heating or sample annealing. Thermoelectric properties of the thin films were measured. A B12+x1C3-x thin film with estimated composition of x =0.9 exhibited the highest power factor at room temperature among the B12+x1C3-x samples reported.
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