Tohoku University

About: Tohoku University is a education organization based out in Sendai, Japan. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Magnetization & Alloy. The organization has 72116 authors who have published 170791 publications receiving 3941714 citations. The organization is also known as: Tōhoku daigaku.

Evaluation of Wind Vectors Observed by QuikSCAT/SeaWinds Using Ocean Buoy Data

Abstract: Wind vectors observed by the QuikSCAT/SeaWinds satellite mission are validated by comparing with wind and wave data from ocean buoys. Effects of oceanographic and atmospheric environment on scatterometer measurements are also assessed using the buoy data. Three versions of QuikSCAT/SeaWinds wind data were collocated with buoy observations operated by the National Data Buoy Center (NDBC), Tropical Atmosphere Ocean (TAO), and Pilot Research Moored Array in the Tropical Atlantic (PIRATA) projects, and the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA). Only buoys located offshore and in deep water were analyzed. The temporal and spatial differences between the QuikSCAT/SeaWinds and buoy observations were limited to less than 30 min and 25 km. The buoy wind speeds were converted to equivalent neutral winds at a height of 10 m above the sea surface. The comparisons show that the wind speeds and directions observed by QuikSCAT/SeaWinds agree well with the buoy data. The root-mean-squared differences of the wind speed and direction for the standard wind data products are 1.01 m s - 1 and 23°, respectively, while no significant dependencies on the wind speed or cross-track cell location are discernible. Inaddition, the dependencies of wind speed residuals on oceanographic and atmospheric parameters observed by buoys are examined using the collocated data. A weak positive correlation of the wind speed residuals with the significant wave height is found, while dependencies on the sea surface temperature or atmospheric stability are not physically significant.

Relationship between body mass index and gray matter volume in 1,428 healthy individuals.

Abstract: Objective: To investigate any correlation between BMI and brain gray matter volume, we analyzed 1,428 healthy Japanese subjects by applying volumetric analysis and voxel-based morphometry (VBM) using brain magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, which enables a global analysis of brain structure without a priori identification of a region of interest. Methods and Procedures: We collected brain MR images from 690 men and 738 women, and their height, weight, and other clinical information. The collected images were automatically normalized into a common standard space for an objective assessment of neuroanatomical correlations in volumetric analysis and VBM with BMI. Results: Volumetric analysis revealed a significant negative correlation in men (P < 0.001, adjusting for age, lifetime alcohol intake, history of hypertension, and diabetes mellitus), although not in women, between BMI and the gray matter ratio, which represents the percentage of gray matter volume in the intracranial volume. VBM revealed that, in men, the regional gray matter volume of the bilateral medial temporal lobes, anterior lobe of the cerebellum, occipital lobe, frontal lobe, precuneus, and midbrain showed significant negative correlations with BMI, while those of the bilateral inferior frontal gyri, posterior lobe of the cerebellum, frontal lobes, temporal lobes, thalami, and caudate heads showed significant positive correlations with BMI. Discussion: Global loss and regional alterations in gray matter volume occur in obese male subjects, suggesting that male subjects with a high BMI are at greater risk for future declines in cognition or other brain functions.

Lyα Emitters at z = 5.7 in the Subaru Deep Field

Abstract: PASJ: Publ. Astron. Soc. Japan , 1–??, c 2008. Astronomical Society of Japan. Lyα Emitters at z = 5.7 in the Subaru Deep Field Kazuhiro Shimasaku, 1,2 Nobunari Kashikawa, 3,4 Mamoru Doi, 5,2 Chun Ly, 6 Matthew A.Malkan, 6 Yuichi Matsuda, 7 Masami Ouchi, 8,‡ Tomoki Hayashino, 9 Masanori Iye, 3,4 Kentaro Motohara, 5 Takashi Murayama, Tohru Nagao, 3,11 Kouji Ohta, 12 Sadanori Okamura, 1,2 Toshiyuki Sasaki, 13 Yasuhiro Shioya, 10 Yoshiaki Taniguchi 10 arXiv:astro-ph/0602614v1 28 Feb 2006 Department of Astronomy, School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033 Email (KS): shimasaku@astron.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp Research Center for the Early Universe, School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033 Optical and Infrared Astronomy Division, National Astronomical Observatory, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588 Department of Astronomy, School of Science, Graduate University for Advanced Studies, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588 Institute of Astronomy, School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Mitaka 181-0015 Department of Astronomy, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1547, USA Department of Astronomy, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8502 Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA Research Center for Neutrino Science, Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University, Aramaki, Aoba, Sendai 980-8578 Astronomical Institute, Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University, Aramaki, Aoba, Sendai 980-8578, Japan INAF / Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri Largo E. Fermi 5, 50125 Firenze, Italy Kouji Ohta Department of Astronomy, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8502 Subaru Telescope, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, 650 N. A’ohoku Place, Hilo, HI 96720, USA (Received 2005 October 26; accepted 2006 February 27) Abstract We present the properties of Lyα emitters (LAEs) at z = 5.7 in the Subaru Deep Field. A photometric sample of 89 LAE candidates is constructed from narrow-band (NB816) data down to N B816 = 26.0 (AB) in a continuous 725 arcmin 2 area. Spectra of 39 objects satisfying the photometric selection criteria for LAEs were obtained with Subaru and Keck II Telescopes, among which 28 were confirmed LAEs, one was a nearby galaxy, and eight were unclassified. We also obtained spectra of another 24 NB816-excess objects in the field, identifying six additional LAEs. We find that the Lyα luminosity function derived from the photometric sample is reproduced well by a Schechter function with L ⋆ = 7.9 +3.0 erg s −1 and φ ⋆ = 6.3 −2.0 × 10 −4 Mpc −3 for α = −1.5 (fixed) over the whole luminosity range of L ≃ 3 × 10 42 – 3 × 10 43 erg s −1 . We then measure rest-frame Lyα equivalent widths (EWs) for the confirmed LAEs, to find that the median among the 28 objects satisfying the photometric selection criteria is W i0 = 233 ˚ A. We infer that 30% – 40% of LAEs at z = 5.7 exceed W i0 = 240 ˚ A. These large-EW objects probably cannot be accounted for by ordinary star-forming populations with a Salpeter IMF. We also find that LAEs with fainter far-UV luminosities have larger EWs. Finally, we derive the far-UV luminosity function of LAEs down to M UV ≃ −19.6 using the photometric sample, and compare it with that of Lyman-break galaxies (LBGs). We find that as high as about 80% of LBGs at z ∼ 6 have W i0 ≥ 100 ˚ A, in sharp contrast to lower-z counterparts. Key words: galaxies: evolution — galaxies: high-redshift — galaxies: luminosity function, mass function — galaxies: photometry

Targeting Nrf2 with the triterpenoid CDDO-imidazolide attenuates cigarette smoke-induced emphysema and cardiac dysfunction in mice.

Abstract: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which comprises emphysema and chronic bronchitis resulting from prolonged exposure to cigarette smoke (CS), is a major public health burden with no effective treatment. Emphysema is also associated with pulmonary hypertension, which can progress to right ventricular failure, an important cause of morbidity and mortality among patients with COPD. Nuclear erythroid 2 p45 related factor-2 (Nrf2) is a redox-sensitive transcription factor that up-regulates a battery of antioxidative genes and cytoprotective enzymes that constitute the defense against oxidative stress. Recently, it has been shown that patients with advanced COPD have a decline in expression of the Nrf2 pathway in lungs, suggesting that loss of this antioxidative protective response is a key factor in the pathophysiological progression of emphysema. Furthermore, genetic disruption of Nrf2 in mice causes early-onset and severe emphysema. The present study evaluated whether the strategy of activation of Nrf2 and its downstream network of cytoprotective genes with a small molecule would attenuate CS-induced oxidative stress and emphysema. Nrf2+/+ and Nrf2−/− mice were fed a diet containing the potent Nrf2 activator, 1-[2-cyano-3-,12-dioxooleana-1,9(11)-dien-28-oyl]imidazole (CDDO-Im), while being exposed to CS for 6 months. CDDO-Im significantly reduced lung oxidative stress, alveolar cell apoptosis, alveolar destruction, and pulmonary hypertension in Nrf2+/+ mice caused by chronic exposure to CS. This protection from CS-induced emphysema depended on Nrf2, as Nrf2−/− mice failed to show significant reduction in alveolar cell apoptosis and alveolar destruction after treatment with CDDO-Im. These results suggest that targeting the Nrf2 pathway during the etiopathogenesis of emphysema may represent an important approach for prophylaxis against COPD.