Abstract
Environmental noise is one of the critical issues for the observation of gravitational waves, but is difficult to predict in advance. Therefore, to evaluate the adverse impact of ...environmental noise on the detector sensitivity, understanding the detector response to the environmental noise in actual setup is crucial, for both the observation and future upgrades. In this paper, we introduce and verify a new method of the environmental noise injection test based on the post-observation commissioning of KAGRA. This new method (response function model) includes the frequency conversion and nonlinearity of power, which are the effects that are not considered in the current model (coupling function model) used in LIGO and Virgo. We also confirmed the validity of our method by applying it to an environmental noise-enriched dataset and successfully reproducing them.
In the present study, we investigated the free radical scavenging effects of green tea extract and green tea tannin mixture and its components using a nitric oxide (NO) and superoxide (O
2
−) ...generating system in vitro. Green tea extract showed direct scavenging activity against NO and O
2
− and green tea tannin mixture, at the same concentration, showed high scavenging activity. Comparison of the activities of seven pure compounds isolated from green tea tannin mixture showed that (−)-epigallocatechin 3-
O-gallate (EGCg), (−)-gallocatechin 3-
O-gallate (GCg) and (−)-epicatechin 3-
O-gallate (ECg) had higher scavenging activities than (−)-epigallocatechin (EGC), (+)-gallocatechin (GC), (−)-epicatechin (EC) and (+)-catechin (C), showing the importance of the structure of flavan-3-ol linked to gallic acid for this activity. Among the gallate-free tannins, EGC and GC were more effective O
2
− scavengers than EC and C, indicating the
O-trihydroxy structure in the B ring is an important determinant of such activity. However, this structure did not affect the NO scavenging activity. These findings confirm that green tea tannin has excellent antioxidant properties, which may be involved in the beneficial effect of this compound.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
Antimicrobial stewardship programmes are considered essential for optimizing antimicrobial use in order to improve patient outcomes, reduce the number of adverse sequelae, prevent resistance, and ...ensure cost-effective therapy.
To assess the efficacy and the limitations of antifungal antimicrobial stewardship programmes.
A bundle to manage infectious diseases was implemented in our hospital in October 2010. Data regarding antimicrobial use density (AUD) from April 2006 to May 2016 were collected. Trends in AUD were assessed using an interrupted time-series model for three separate periods: the pre-bundle, the bundle implementation, and the long-term follow-up periods. The primary and secondary outcomes were AUD (defined daily dose (DDD) per 1000 patient-days) of intravenous antifungals and expenditure on antifungals per fiscal year, respectively.
The AUD for all intravenous antifungals decreased from 26.1 in 2006 to 9.9 in 2015. Whereas the change in the trend during the pre-bundle period was not significant (slope: 0.062; 95% confidence interval (CI): −0.180 to 0.305), a significant decrease was observed in the bundle implementation period (slope: −0.535; 95% CI: −0.907 to −0.164). The trend slowed during the long-term follow-up period (slope: −0.040; 95% CI: −0.218 to 0.138). Total expenditure on antifungals decreased by 73%, from ¥52,354,411 in fiscal year 2006 to ¥14,073,099 in fiscal year 2015.
The bundle significantly reduced the use of antifungals and decreased costs over time, but this effect was limited in that it had stabilized within three years.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
Through numerical simulations, it is predicted that the gravitational waves (GWs) reflect the characteristics of the core-collapse supernova (CCSN) explosion mechanism. There are multiple GW ...excitation processes that occur inside a star before its explosion, and it is suggested that the GWs originating from the CCSN have a mode for each excitation process in terms of time-frequency representation. Therefore, we propose an application of the Hilbert-Huang transform (HHT), which is a high-resolution time-frequency analysis method, to analyze these GW modes for theoretically probing and increasing our understanding of the explosion mechanism. The HHT defines frequency as a function of time, and is not bound by the trade-off between time and frequency resolutions. In this study, we analyze a gravitational waveform obtained from a three-dimensional general-relativistic CCSN model that showed a vigorous activity of the standing-accretion-shock-instability (SASI). We succeed in extracting the SASI induced GWs with high resolution on a time-frequency representation using the HHT and we examine their instantaneous frequencies.
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CMK, CTK, FMFMET, IJS, NUK, PNG, UM
Abstract
For ground-based gravitational wave (GW) detectors, lightning strokes in the atmosphere are sources of environmental noise.
Some GW detectors are built or planned in underground facilities, ...and knowledge of how lightning strokes affect them is of interest.
In this paper, the lightning detection system in KAGRA is introduced, and the properties of the magnetic field measured inside and outside the KAGRA tunnel are shown.
One lightning-induced event in the GW channel of the KAGRA main interferometer is also showed.
Finally, possible applications of lightning events for the GW experiments are discussed.
The Super-Kamiokande detector is a ring imaging Cherenkov detector for neutrino physics and proton-decay search and consists of 50 000 tons of pure water equipped with about 13 000 photo-multipliers. ...The old front-end electronics and online system running for more than one decade were all upgraded in September, 2008 and the data acquisition was started successfully. The new front-end electronics is based on a charge to time converter and a multi-hit Time to Digital converter. TCP/IP based readout channel is implemented to handle large amounts of data. In the new data acquisition scheme, the hardware event-trigger for the data reduction is replaced by processing all the hits in the online farm, so that we are able to lower the threshold of the detection energy for solar neutrino and analyze consecutive events whose time interval is too long to detect in the previous system. To make the new online system to be capable of processing larger dataflow of up to 470 MB/s, we utilize Gigabit and 10-Gigabit Ethernet technologies and distribute the load over Linux PCs to handle a large amount of data. In this paper, we will describe the design and performance of the new system in the commissioning.
A 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical-generating system was used to evaluate the antioxidant properties of Korean medicinal plants that have been used widely as folk medicines for several ...disorders, as well as compounds isolated from them. Among the Rosaceae,
Rosa rugosa and
Rosa davurica showed strong DPPH radical-scavenging activity. The most effective medicinal plant from families other than Rosaceae was
Cedrela sinensis, followed in order by
Nelumbo nucifera,
Eucommia ulmoides,
Zanthoxylum piperitum,
Cudrania tricuspidata and
Houttuynia cordata. These results serve as a good index of the free radical-scavenging activities of Korean medicinal plants. Furthermore, the polyphenols isolated from these plants, procyanidin B-3, (+)-catechin, gallic acid, methyl gallate, quercetin, quercetin-3-O-β-D-glucoside, quercetin-3-O-β-galactoside, quercetin-3-O-rutinose and kaempferol, exerted strong DPPH radical-scavenging activity. These results suggest that the Korean medicinal plants and the polyphenols isolated from them that exhibited effective radical-scavenging activity may be promising agents for scavenging free radicals and treating diseases associated with excess free radicals.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
The antioxidant properties of amla extracts and their effects on the oxidative stress in streptozotocin-induced diabetes were examined in rats. Amla in the form of either the commercial enzymatic ...extract SunAmla (Taiyo Kagaku Co. Ltd., Yokkaichi, Japan) (20 or 40 mg/kg of body weight/day) or a polyphenol-rich fraction of ethyl acetate extract (10 or 20 mg/kg of body weight/day) was given orally for 20 days to the streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Amla extracts showed strong free radical scavenging activity. Amla also showed strong inhibition of the production of advanced glycosylated end products. The oral administration of amla extracts to the diabetic rats slightly improved body weight gain and also significantly alleviated various oxidative stress indices of the serum of the diabetic rats. The elevated serum levels of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, which is a glycosylated protein that is an indicator of oxidative stress, were significantly reduced dose-dependently in the diabetic rats fed amla. Similarly, the serum level of creatinine, yet another oxidative stress parameter, was also reduced. Furthermore, thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances levels were significantly reduced with amla, indicating a reduction in lipid peroxidation. In addition, the decreased albumin levels in the diabetic rats were significantly improved with amla. Amla also significantly improved the serum adiponectin levels. These results form the scientific basis supporting the efficacy of amla for relieving the oxidative stress and improving glucose metabolism in diabetes.
The serum cholesterol (total, free, esterified, low density lipoprotein (LDL) and oxidized LDL) levels of rats fed a diet containing, by weight, 1% cholesterol and 0.5% cholic acid increased, as ...compared with those of rats fed a normal diet. The levels, especially of total cholesterol, LDL and oxidized LDL, were reduced significantly in a dose-dependent manner, in rats given Coptidis Rhizoma extract orally at doses of 50 and 100 mg/kg body wt./day for 30 days. These results indicate that Coptidis Rhizoma extract is effective in reducing the pathological damage caused by hypercholesterolemia, through lowering of serum cholesterol levels. In addition, Coptidis Rhizoma extract reduced the level of liver cholesterol, but it did not reduce that of fecal cholesterol, suggesting that the cholesterol level-lowering effect resulted from the reduction of cholesterol synthesis, not the enhancement of its excretion. Furthermore, the serum thiobarbituric acid-reactive substance level decreased after oral administration of Coptidis Rhizoma extract, indicating that Coptidis Rhizoma could prevent hypercholesterolemic disease through reducing lipid peroxidation. This study demonstrates that Coptidis Rhizoma may be a useful therapy for hypercholesterolemia through reducing oxidative stress and cholesterol levels.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
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