Ocean warming has facilitated the range expansion of commercially important sea urchin species to higher latitudes. Heliocidaris crassispina was recorded to extend northward to Toga Bay along the Oga ...Peninsula, Japan following an increase in seawater temperatures, and replacement of local sea urchin species Mesocentrotus nudus. In order to identify evidence of adaptation occurring in response to a range extension of H. crassispina to the newly extended environments, we randomly collected 106 H. crassispina in August 2014 in Toga Bay, determined the growth and age composition and examined gonad traits (size, color and development). To confirm the gonad development, 30 H. crassispina with > 30 mm diameter were collected in July, August and September 2017. We found slower growth in the extended range than the central range. More delayed gonad development of males than those of females and a large variety of developmental stages in the acini of testis indicated that the spawning of both sexes of the sea urchins were asynchronous. In terms of gonad color, L* (lightness) values increased with increasing GI, while b* (yellowness) values decreased with increasing age. The population consisted of seven year-classes from 2006 to 2012, suggesting persistent juvenile recruitment. Long-term water temperature data indicated that the range extension of H. crassispina was due to ocean warming, in particular during the summer spawning season.
We fabricate transistors from chemical vapor deposition-grown monolayer MoS2 crystals and demonstrate excellent current saturation at large drain voltages (V d). The low-field characteristics of ...these devices indicate that the electron mobility is likely limited by scattering from charged impurities. The current–voltage characteristics exhibit variable range hopping at low V d and evidence of velocity saturation at higher V d. This work confirms the excellent potential of MoS2 as a possible channel-replacement material and highlights the role of multiple transport phenomena in governing its transistor action.
Soluble thrombomodulin is a promising therapeutic natural anticoagulant that is comparable to antithrombin, tissue factor pathway inhibitor and activated protein C.
We conducted a multicenter, ...double-blind, randomized, parallel-group trial to compare the efficacy and safety of recombinant human soluble thrombomodulin (ART-123) to those of low-dose heparin for the treatment of disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) associated with hematologic malignancy or infection.
DIC patients (n = 234) were assigned to receive ART-123 (0.06 mg kg(-1) for 30 min, once daily) or heparin sodium (8 U kg(-1) h(-1) for 24 h) for 6 days, using a double-dummy method. The primary efficacy endpoint was DIC resolution rate. The secondary endpoints included clinical course of bleeding symptoms and mortality rate at 28 days.
DIC was resolved in 66.1% of the ART-123 group, as compared with 49.9% of the heparin group difference 16.2%; 95% confidence interval (CI) 3.3-29.1. Patients in the ART-123 group also showed more marked improvement in clinical course of bleeding symptoms (P = 0.0271). The incidence of bleeding-related adverse events up to 7 days after the start of infusion was lower in the ART-123 group than in the heparin group (43.1% vs. 56.5%, P = 0.0487).
When compared with heparin therapy, ART-123 therapy more significantly improves DIC and alleviates bleeding symptoms in DIC patients.
The systematic development of British Concession in the 19th century had a profound impact on the development of cities in the history of modernization in East Asia. To find out the relevance of the ...urban management system of the British concession and the process of urban modernization between different cities in East Asia, this paper combs the development process of land allocation and urban management in the early British concession by using the land regulation. It focuses on the specific case of the 1866 land regulation promulgated by the British concession in Tianjin from the perspective of colonialism and the construction and management system of the East Asian British concession. It analyses the historical background and influence, then further explores the reasons for its promulgation. This finding can fill part of the vacancy in the history of urban development and play an important role in the development of contemporary urban construction in East Asia as reflection and reference.
Ocean warming has facilitated the extension of Heliocidaris crassispina to Oga Peninsula, Japan, where the native species Mesocentrotus nudus has disappeared. To verify the temperature impacts on the ...physiology and behaviour of the two species, we reared small sea urchins at the increasing–decreasing temperature rate of 2.5 °C·week
−1
. The righting response, lantern reflex, gonad and gut carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) contents, and feeding rate were investigated. The high and low temperature limits of H. crassispina were 33.3 and 3.9 °C, respectively, which were higher than those of M. nudus. The optimal temperature ranges for behaviour and feeding in H. crassispina were 10.3–31.0 and 10.3–33.4 °C, respectively, which were higher than those in M. nudus. Feeding rates decreased significantly in both species when the temperature approached the high or low temperature limit, but the gut C and N contents of were not greatly affected. At 26–31 °C, the feeding rate significantly decreased in M. nudus but not in H. crassispina, which may explain the replacement of M. nudus by H. crassispina in the Oga Peninsula.
In coagulation-membrane filtration water treatment processes, it is still difficult to determine the optimal coagulation condition to minimize irreversible membrane fouling. In microfiltration (MF), ...meso-particles (i.e., 20 nm–0.5 μm) are thought to play an important role in irreversible membrane fouling, especially their characteristics of particle number (PN) and zeta potential (ZP). In this study, a new nanoparticle tracker combined a high-output violet laser with a microscope was developed to identify the physicochemical characteristics of these microscopic and widely dispersed meso-particles. The effects of pH and coagulant dose on ZP and PN of micro-particles (i.e., >0.5 μm) and meso-particles were investigated, and then coagulation-MF tests were conducted. As the result, irreversible membrane fouling was best controlled for both types of membranes, while meso-particle ZP approached zero at around pH 5.5 for both types of natural water. Since PN was greatest under these conditions, ZP is more important in determining the extent of irreversible membrane fouling than PN. However, the acidic condition to neutralize meso-particles is not suitable for actual operation, as considering residual aluminum concentration, pipe corrosion, and chlorination efficiency. It is therefore necessary to investigate coagulants or other methods for the appropriate modification of meso-particle characteristics.
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•Charge of meso-particles (20 nm–0.5 μm) was identified with new particle tracker.•Zeta potential (ZP) of colloidal particles were different depending on their sizes.•Meso-particles has lower pH in neutralization point (ZP = 0) than micro-particles.•ZP has more impact on irreversible fouling than particle number.•Lowest irreversible fouling was achieved when meso-particle ZP approached zero.
Gonad quality (color, texture, and taste) of adult
Mesocentrotus nudus
from a barren can be improved by feeding with the kelp
Saccharina japonica
. Fronds of cultivated
S. japonica
accumulate ...resources from May or June as they form zoospores (maturation). In this study, the effect of feeding cultivated
S. japonica
at the late sporophyte stage (May–July) on the gonad quality of
M. nudus
from a barren and cultured in cages suspended offshore in Shizugawa Bay, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, was investigated. At the end of the culture period, gonad indices, hardness, color (
L
*,
a
*,
b
*), free amino acid (FAA) content in the gonads, the consistency of these traits among individuals, and sensory scores of the cultured sea urchins (CE) were compared to those of a natural population from a barren (BE), an
Eisenia bicyclis
bed (EE) (fishing ground), and urchins from the barren at the start of the culture period (BS). The CE group exhibited a higher gonad index and
L
*
value, and lower gonad hardness and variation among individuals than those of the BS group. Sensory evaluation showed that gonad taste and overall quality of the CE group was more desirable than the EE group. The desirable taste is a result of sweetness due to a high alanine content, strong umami, and low arginine content. It is likely that increased gonad size and improved gonad quality and consistency among individuals were due to feeding the urchins with mature, nutritious
S. japonica
at the late sporophyte stage. Further research is required to identify the nutrient constituents of
S. japonica
at the late sporophyte stage that affect gonad taste.
Objective: We examined whether green tea-extract powder supplementation improves glucose abnormality. Methods: The study was conducted for volunteers who resided in eastern communities of Shizuoka ...Prefecture and who had fasting blood glucose levels of 6.1 mmol/l or nonfasting blood glucose levels of 7.8 mmol/l in a recent health check-up. Sixty subjects aged 32-73 years (49 males and 11 females) participated in the trial. The Early intervention group consumed a packet of green tea-extract powder containing 544 mg polyphenols (456 mg catechins) daily for the first 2 months and then entered the 2-month nonintervention period. The Later intervention group was observed for the first 2 months and then consumed green tea-extract powder as described above for the subsequent 2 months. Using the two-period crossover design, we analyzed the changes in fasting hemoglobin A1c level and other biomarkers in blood samples collected at baseline, 2 months and 4 months. Results: A significant reduction in hemoglobin A1c level and a borderline significant reduction in diastolic blood pressure were associated with the intervention. The intervention caused no significant changes in weight, body mass index, body fat, systolic blood pressure, fasting serum glucose level, homeostasis model assessment index, serum lipid level or hypersensitive C-reactive protein. Conclusion: Daily supplementary intake of green tea-extract powder lowered the hemoglobin A1c level in individuals with borderline diabetes.
We demonstrate a novel form of thermally-assisted hysteresis in the transfer curves of monolayer MoS2 FETs, characterized by the appearance of a large gate-voltage window and distinct current levels ...that differ by a factor of ∼102. The hysteresis emerges for temperatures in excess of 400 K and, from studies in which the gate-voltage sweep parameters are varied, appears to be related to charge injection into the SiO2 gate dielectric. The thermally-assisted memory is strongly suppressed in equivalent measurements performed on bilayer transistors, suggesting that weak screening in the monolayer system plays a vital role in generating its strongly sensitive response to the charge-injection process. By exploiting the full features of the hysteretic transfer curves, programmable memory operation is demonstrated. The essential principles demonstrated here point the way to a new class of thermally assisted memories based on atomically thin two-dimensional semiconductors.
SUMMARY
We conducted a 5‐year monitoring survey of a population of Eisenia bicyclis kelp at a coastal area that suffered subsidence from the 2011 earthquake and the subsequent breakwater restoration ...work. Due to subsidence, the former intertidal area sank to the subtidal zone, therefore, the density of E. bicyclis increased because of many recruits. However, after the restoration work, the area harboring the recruits was destroyed and landfilled. In an area that sank below the pre‐subsidence border of the kelp distribution, recruits were rare. Furthermore, an indirect effect of the restoration work was also observed on recruitment in the intact offshore kelp zone. Our results showed that the breakwater restoration work following subsidence had negative effects, not only to the density but also to the age structure of the E. bicyclis population.
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