On the relationship between energy input to the ionosphere and the ion outflow flux under different solar zenith angles.

The ionosphere is one of the important sources for magnetospheric plasma, particularly for heavy ions with low charge states. We investigate the effect of solar illumination on the number flux of ion outflow using data obtained by the Fast Auroral SnapshoT (FAST) satellite at 3000-4150 km altitude from 7 January 1998 to 5 February 1999. We derive empirical formulas between energy inputs and outflowing ion number fluxes for various solar zenith angle ranges. We found that the outflowing ion number flux under sunlit conditions increases more steeply with increasing electron density in the loss cone or with increasing precipitating electron density (> 50 eV), compared to the ion flux under dark conditions. Under ionospheric dark conditions, weak electron precipitation can drive ion outflow with small averaged fluxes (~ 107 cm-2 s-1). The slopes of relations between the Poynting fluxes and outflowing ion number fluxes show no clear dependence on the solar zenith angle. Intense ion outflow events (> 108 cm-2 s-1) occur mostly under sunlit conditions (solar zenith angle < 90°). Thus, it is presumably difficult to drive intense ion outflows under dark conditions, because of a lack of the solar illumination (low ionospheric density and/or small scale height owing to low plasma temperature).

Contamination of antibiotics and sul and tet(M) genes in veterinary wastewater, river, and coastal sea in Thailand.

Water systems in Southeast Asia accumulate antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) from multiple origins, notably including human clinics and animal farms. To ascertain the fate of antibiotics and ARGs in natural water environments, we monitored the concentrations of these items in Thailand. Here, we show high concentrations of tetracyclines (72,156.9 ng/L) and lincomycin (23,968.0 ng/L) in pig farms, followed by nalidixic acid in city canals. The city canals and rivers contained diverse distributions of antibiotics and ARGs. Assessments of targeted ARGs, including sul1, sul2, sul3, and tet(M), showed that freshwater (pig farm wastewater, rivers, and canals) consistently contained these ARGs, but these genes were less abundant in seawater. Although sulfonamides were low concentrations (<170 ng/mL), sul1 and sul2 genes were abundant in freshwater (minimum 4.4 × 10-3-maximum 1.0 × 100 copies/16S), suggesting that sul genes have disseminated over a long period, despite cessation of use of this class of antibiotics. Ubiquitous distribution of sul genes in freshwater appeared to be independent of selection pressure. In contrast, water of the coastal sea in the monitored area was not contaminated by these antibiotics or ARGs. The density of Enterobacteriales was lower in seawater than in freshwater, suggesting that the number of ARG-possessing Enterobacteriales falls after entering seawater. From the pig farms, through rivers/canals, to the coastal sea, the occurrence of tetracyclines and tet(M) exhibited some correlation, although not a strong one. However, no correlations were found between concentrations of total antibiotics and ARGs, nor between sulfonamides and sul genes. This is the first comprehensive study showing Thai features of antibiotics and ARGs contaminations. The pig farm is hot spot of antibiotics and ARGs, and sul genes ubiquitously distribute in freshwater environments, which become less abundant in seawater.

Design for stray-light reduction to a Martian ionospheric imager.

We demonstrate a new design high-contrast optics suitable for use on a stray-light reduction. Two-dimensional distribution of diffracted light was numerically analyzed and confirmed by a laboratory measurement to determine its characteristics. Laboratory measurements confirm stray-light performance with ∼10-8 rejection viewing as close as 1.0° to a bright-light source. The present improvement replaces the conventional normal-edge vane by an edge with microscopic Gaussian-shaped structures. This permits simplified fabrication, provides even more weight reduction, and delivers improved performance for a given size.

Manure Compost Is a Potential Source of Tetracycline-Resistant Escherichia coli and Tetracycline Resistance Genes in Japanese Farms.

Manure compost has been thought of as a potential important route of transmission of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria (ARB) and antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) from livestock to humans. To clarify the abundance of ARB and ARGs, ARB and ARGs were quantitatively determined in tetracycline-resistant Escherichia coli (harboring the tetA gene)-spiked feces in simulated composts. In the simulated composts, the concentration of spiked E. coli decreased below the detection limit at day 7. The tetA gene remained in manure compost for 20 days, although the levels of the gene decreased. Next, to clarify the field conditions of manure compost in Japan, the quantities of tetracycline-resistant bacteria, tetracycline resistance genes, and residual tetracyclines were determined using field-manure-matured composts in livestock farms. Tetracycline-resistant bacteria were detected in 54.5% of tested matured compost (6/11 farms). The copy number of the tetA gene and the concentrations of residual tetracyclines in field manure compost were significantly correlated. These results suggest that the use of antimicrobials in livestock constitutes a selective pressure, not only in livestock feces but also in manure compost. The appropriate use of antimicrobials in livestock and treatment of manure compost are important for avoiding the spread of ARB and ARGs.

Visual Hallucinations and Impaired Conscious Visual Perception in Parkinson Disease.

Visual hallucinations (VHs) are common in patients with Parkinson disease (PD), especially those with dementia, whereas auditory hallucinations are quite rare. Recent studies have revealed the involvement of several regions along the visual information-processing system that contribute to the pathophysiological mechanism of VHs: the eyes and retina, retinofugal projection, lateral geniculate nucleus, striate cortex, ventral pathways in the temporal cortices, and frontal and parietal cortices. In addition, the concurrent involvement of other systems in the brainstem and basal forebrain further modify VHs in PD. In this review, we discuss the pathophysiological association between the regional involvement of these areas and VHs.

Can blood pressure be measured during exercise with an automated sphygmomanometer based on an oscillometric method?

[Purpose] This study investigated the reliability of an automated sphygmomanometer based on an oscillometric method, when used during exercise. [Subjects and Methods] Ten healthy subjects were included. Blood pressure (BP) was measured with an automated sphygmomanometer based on a cuff-oscillometric method. The experiment consisted of five tests: sitting posture at rest, walking with swinging the upper limbs, walking without swinging the upper limbs, walking on a treadmill, and riding a bicycle ergometer. Right and left brachial artery BP was measured twice at the same times. If the difference in systolic BP on bilateral testing was less than 15 mmHg, it was judged to be accurate, and accurate measurement rates were calculated. [Results] BP could not be measured in most limbs on walking with swinging the upper limbs, walking without swinging the upper limbs, or walking on a treadmill. The accurate measurement rates in bilateral limbs were 95.0% in sitting posture at rest, 0.0% on walking with swinging upper limbs, 5.0% on walking without swinging upper limbs, 15.0% on walking on a treadmill, and 65.0% on riding a bicycle ergometer. [Conclusion] An automated sphygmomanometer based on an oscillometric method was useful for BP measurement only at rest.

Use of Aeromonas spp. as General Indicators of Antimicrobial Susceptibility among Bacteria in Aquatic Environments in Thailand.

Antimicrobials are widely used, not only for treating human infections, but also for treatment of livestock and in fish farms. Human habitats in Southeastern Asian countries are located in close proximity to aquatic environments. As such, the human populations within these regions are at risk of exposure to antimicrobial resistant bacteria, and thereby disseminating antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs). In this study, we collected water samples from 15 sites (5 sites in Chao Phraya River, 2 sites at the mouth of Chao Phraya River, 3 sites in Ta Chin River, and 5 sites at city canals) and 12 sites (6 sites at city canals; 2 sites at chicken farms; 2 sites at pig farms; and 2 samples from sites at pig farms, which were subsequently treated at a biogas plant) in Thailand in 2013 and 2014, respectively. In total, 117 Aeromonas spp. were isolated from the water samples, and these organisms exhibited various antimicrobial susceptibility profiles. Notably, there was a significant correlation between the environmental concentration of tetracyclines and the rates of tetracycline resistance in the isolated Aeromonas spp.; however, both the concentration and rates of tetracycline resistance in samples derived from pig farms were higher than those of samples harvested from other aquatic environments. These findings suggest that the high concentrations of antimicrobials observed in these aquatic environments likely select for ARGs. Furthermore, they indicate that Aeromonas spp. comprise an effective marker for monitoring antimicrobial resistance in aquatic environments.

Metastatic renal cell carcinoma initially presented with a longitudinally extensive spinal cord lesion on MRI.

A 48-year old male patient developed numbness in the lower half of the body 5 months after the curative operation of left renal cell carcinoma. Neurological examinations revealed the sensory disturbance below the T10 dermatome. A sagittal T2WI of the spinal MRI demonstrated a longitudinally extensive spinal cord lesion (LESCL) ranging from the C7 to L1 vertebral level. The neurological deficits rapidly deteriorated to paraplegia with bladder bowel disturbance. The high dose steroid pulse therapy showed temporary effect. The Gd enhanced T1WI of the spinal MRI taken on the 24th hospital day demonstrated a solitary intramedullary mass in the T8-9 level with ring enhancement, and a subsequent total resection of the tumor was performed. The histopathological studies of the tumor lead to the diagnosis of intramedullary spinal cord metastasis of the renal cell carcinoma. The post-operative T2WI of the spinal MRI revealed disappearance of the longitudinally extensive lesion. On the 112 hospital day, he was discharged with ambulatory aid. While solitary intramedullary spinal cord metastasis of renal cell carcinoma is quite rare, it should be suspected when the LESCL is revealed on a spinal MRI, even after the curative operation of the primary tumor.

Cold ions in the hot plasma sheet of Earth's magnetotail.

Most visible matter in the Universe exists as plasma. How this plasma is heated, and especially how the initial non-equilibrium plasma distributions relax to thermal equilibrium (as predicted by Maxwell-Boltzman statistics), is a fundamental question in studies of astrophysical and laboratory plasmas. Astrophysical plasmas are often so tenuous that binary collisions can be ignored, and it is not clear how thermal equilibrium develops for these 'collisionless' plasmas. One example of a collisionless plasma is the Earth's plasma sheet, where thermalized hot plasma with ion temperatures of about 5 x 10(7) K has been observed. Here we report direct observations of a plasma distribution function during a solar eclipse, revealing cold ions in the Earth's plasma sheet in coexistence with thermalized hot ions. This cold component cannot be detected by plasma sensors on satellites that are positively charged in sunlight, but our observations in the Earth's shadow show that the density of the cold ions is comparable to that of hot ions. This high density is difficult to explain within existing theories, as it requires a mechanism that permits half of the source plasma to remain cold upon entry into the hot turbulent plasma sheet.