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The study of carrier multiplication has become an essential part of many-body physics and materials science as this multiplication directly affects nonlinear transport phenomena, and has a key role in designing efficient solar cells and electroluminescent emitters and highly sensitive photon detectors. Here we show that a 1-MVcm −1 electric field of a terahertz pulse, unlike a DC bias, can generate a substantial number of electron–hole pairs, forming excitons that emit near-infrared luminescence. The bright luminescence associated with carrier multiplication suggests that carriers coherently driven by a strong electric field can efficiently gain enough kinetic energy to induce a series of impact ionizations that can increase the number of carriers by about three orders of magnitude on the picosecond time scale. Studying carrier multiplication in materials is important to understand their transport properties and interaction with light. Hirori et al . show that intense terahertz pulses can generate electron-hole pairs in GaAs quantum wells that then emit infrared light, contrary to the effect with a DC field.

A maltotriose-forming amylase (G3Amy) from Kitasatospora sp. MK-1785 was successfully isolated from a soil sample by inhibiting typical extracellular α-amylases using a proteinaceous α-amylase inhibitor. G3Amy was purified from the MK-1785 culture supernatant and characterized. G3Amy produced maltotriose as the principal product from starch and was categorized as an exo-α-amylase. G3Amy could also transfer maltotriose to phenolic and alcoholic compounds. Therefore, G3Amy can be useful for not only maltotriose manufacture but also maltooligosaccharide-glycoside synthesis. Further, the G3Amy gene was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli cells. Analysis of its deduced amino acid sequence revealed that G3Amy consisted of an N-terminal GH13 catalytic domain and two C-terminal repeat starch-binding domains belonging to CBM20. It is suggested that natural G3Amy was subjected to proteolysis at N-terminal region of the anterior CBM20 in the C-terminal region. As with natural G3Amy, recombinant G3Amy could produce and transfer maltotriose from starch.

A return-to-service occurrence increases nonproductive days of female pigs and decreases herd productivity. The objectives of the present study were 1) to characterize 3 return types based on reservice intervals in female pigs on southern European farms, 2) to determine return risks and recurrence patterns for these types of returns, and 3) to assess lifetime performance of females with the 3 types of returns. We analyzed 653,528 service records and lifetime records of 114,906 females on 125 farms between 2008 and 2013. Reservice intervals were categorized into 3 groups: regular returns (RR: 18 to 24 d), irregular returns (IR: 25 to 38 d), and late returns (LR: 39 d or later). Multilevel generalized linear models were applied to the data. There were 64,385 reservice records (9.9%), with mean risks of RR, IR, and LR per service (±SEM) of 3.6% ± 0.06%, 2.5% ± 0.05%, and 3.0% ± 0.06%, respectively. Of the 43,931 first-returned females, 32.7% had a second return in the same or later parity. Also, 18.8%, 10.2%, and 11.6% of females that had RR, IR, and LR first returns, respectively, had a second return of the same return type. Summer servicing was associated with greater RR, IR, and LR risks in gilts. Also, increased gilt age at first mating was associated with RR ( = 0.03) and LR risk ( < 0.01) but not with IR risk ( = 0.53). For sows, factors associated with greater RR, IR, or LR risks were summer servicing, lower parity, farrowing more stillborn piglets, and having a weaning-to-first-mating interval of 7 d or more ( < 0.01). In lifetime, 33.5% of serviced females had 1 or more returns. These returned females had 41.5 more lifetime nonproductive days than nonreturn females but also 1.9 more lifetime pigs born alive ( < 0.01). We recommend that producers closely monitor females in high-risk groups to reduce their return-to-service intervals.

The process of loss or gain of parasites during invasion of new lands is not well understood. The alfalfa weevil Hypera postica is an invasive pest of various leguminous crops and consists of three major mitochondrial haplotypes, ‘Western’, ‘Egyptian’ and ‘Eastern’. The Western strain is infected with the endosymbiotic proteobacteria Wolbachia, that cause unidirectional complete reproductive incompatibility, in its native (Europe) and an introduced (the United States) ranges. However, our preliminary screening of a few introduced populations in Northern Kyushu, southwestern Japan, failed to detect Wolbachia from the Western strain. A larger-scale and historical assessment of Wolbachia infection may allow to estimate when and how the bacteria were lost, and current geographical distribution of infection among host haplotypes. In this study, we aim to assess the Wolbachia-infection status of H. postica populations throughout Northern Kyushu, where H. postica invasion to Japan was first found. A total of 228 individuals from seven regions in Northern Kyushu collected in different time periods from 1982 to 2015 and 14 individuals from Europe were subjected to PCR diagnostics for Wolbachia. Wolbachia from the Western strain was not detected, irrespective of the time periods and geographic areas in Northern Kyushu. We found ‘Egyptian’-strain H. postica collected most recently from an island off Kyushu harboured a supergroup-B Wolbachia variant. This variant was genetically different from the European Wolbachia variant infecting Western-strain H. postica. The infection was new to the Egyptian haplotype and was estimated to have taken place independently of the loss in the Western strain.

In this paper, we present and discuss experimental results from a microwave sintering of silica glass-ceramics, produced from amorphous silica xerogel extracted from sago waste ash. As a radiation source for a microwave heating a sub-millimeter wave gyrotron (Gyrotron FU CW I) with an output frequency of 300 GHz has been used. The powders of the amorphous silica xerogel have been dry pressed and then sintered at temperatures ranging from 300 °C to 1200 °C. Microwave absorbing properties of the sintered samples were investigated by measuring the dielectric constant, the dielectric loss, and the reflection loss at different frequencies in the interval from 8.2 to 12.4 GHz. Furthermore, the characteristics of the formation process for producing silica glass-ceramics were studied using a Raman Spectroscopy and a Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The results indicate that the samples sintered at 1200 °C are characterized by lower reflection losses and a better transparency due to the formation of a fully crystallized silica glass- ceramic at sufficiently high temperature.

In Brazil, epizootics among New World monkey species may indicate circulation of yellow fever (YF) virus and provide early warning of risk to humans. Between 1999 and 2001, the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul initiated surveillance for epizootics of YF in non-human primates to inform vaccination of human populations. Following a YF outbreak, we analyzed epizootic surveillance data and assessed YF vaccine coverage, timeliness of implementation of vaccination in unvaccinated human populations. From October 2008 through June 2009, circulation of YF virus was confirmed in 67 municipalities in Rio Grande do Sul State; vaccination was recommended in 23 (34%) prior to the outbreak and in 16 (24%) within two weeks of first epizootic report. In 28 (42%) municipalities, vaccination began more than two weeks after first epizootic report. Eleven (52%) of 21 laboratory-confirmed human YF cases occurred in two municipalities with delayed vaccination. By 2010, municipalities with confirmed YF epizootics reported higher vaccine coverage than other municipalities that began vaccination. In unvaccinated human populations timely response to epizootic events is critical to prevent human yellow fever cases.

While patients' perspectives toward pharmacotherapy are expected to be directly influenced by their motivation and understanding of the treatment that they are currently receiving, no study has comprehensively investigated the impact of insight into illness and knowledge for the ongoing pharmacotherapy on the attitude towards drug treatment among patients with schizophrenia. One hundred forty-eight Japanese outpatients diagnosed with schizophrenia, according to the International Classification of Diseases 10th edition, were included (mean±SD age, 47.3±12.4 years; 90 men (60.8%)). Attitudes toward antipsychotic treatment and insight into illness were assessed with the Drug Attitude Inventory-10 (DAI-10) and the VAGUS, respectively. In addition, a multiple-choice questionnaire that was designed to examine patients' knowledge about therapeutic effects, types, and implicated neurotransmitters of antipsychotic drugs they were receiving was utilized. The mean±SD of DAI-10 score was 4.7±4.2. The multiple regression analysis found that lower Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) scores, higher VAGUS scores, and longer illness duration were significantly associated with higher DAI-10 scores (β=-0.226, =0.009; β=0.250, =0.008; β=0.203, =0.034, respectively). There was a significant difference in the DAI-10 scores between the subjects who gave more accurate answers regarding the effects of their primary antipsychotic and those who did not (mean±SD, 5.57±4.38 vs 4.13±4.04, =0.043); however, this finding failed to survive the multiple regression analysis. Better insight into illness and treatment, lower illness severity, longer illness duration, and possibly greater knowledge about the therapeutic effects of medications may lead to better attitudes towards pharmacotherapy among patients with schizophrenia, which has an important implication for this typically chronic mental condition requiring long-term antipsychotic treatment to sustain stability.

Abstract The objectives of this retrospective swine cohort study were 1) to characterize return occurrences in gilts, 2) to determine risk factors for a return occurrence in gilts, and 3) to compare both reproductive performance across parities and lifetime performance between returned gilts and no-return gilts. Data from farm-entry to removal included 832,865 first service records of 160,937 females on 155 Spanish farms, served between 2011 and 2016. Two farm categories were defined on the basis of the upper 25th percentile of the farm means of the number of pigs weaned per sow per year: high-performing farms (> 26.2 pigs) and ordinary farms (≤ 26.2 pigs). Mixed-effects models were applied to by-parity data and lifetime data. For served gilts the mean return occurrence was 12.2%, with one, two and three or more return occurrences occurring in 9.7, 2.1 and 0.4% of gilts, respectively. Removal due to reproductive failure was done for 15.6% of returned gilts compared with only 11.2% of no-return gilts. Also, 6.3-13.3% of the returned gilts were returned again at subsequent parities, compared with only 5.8-10.5% of no-return gilts. A higher return risk for gilts was associated with summer season and being fed on ordinary farms (P < 0.05). With regard to lifetime performance, the parity at removal of returned gilts was 1.0 lower than for no-return gilts, but the returned gilts produced only 0.1 fewer lifetime pigs born alive per parity (P < 0.05). Also, there was no difference between two farm groups for parity at removal (P = 0.06; 4.5 vs. 4.7). However, returned gilts on high-performing and ordinary farms had 57.2 and 61.5 more lifetime non-productive days, respectively than no-return gilts (P < 0.05). With regard to subsequent reproductive performance, the proportion of 0-6 days of subsequent weaning-to-first-service interval across parities was 2.3-7.9% less for returned gilts than for no-return gilts (P < 0.05). In conclusion, returned gilts had lower longevity and more non-productive days than no-return gilts, but they produced similar numbers of pigs born alive per parity. Therefore, management of returned gilts is critical to reduce non-productive days.

The objectives of this retrospective swine cohort study were 1) to characterize culling interval, and 2) to determine risk factors for culling intervals for both the served female breeding pigs and farrowed sows. Data from farm-entry to removal included 142,704 lifetime records of females on 155 Spanish farms, served between 2011 and 2016. Culling intervals for served females were defined as the number of days from first-service to culling without farrowing. Culling intervals for farrowed sows were the number of days from weaning to culling without subsequent service. Females were categorized into two groups: no-return and returned female groups. Also, two farm categories were defined on the basis of the upper 25th percentile of the farm means of the number of pigs weaned per sow per year: high-performing farms (> 26.2 pigs) and ordinary farms (≤ 26.2 pigs). Two-level linear mixed-effects models were applied to the data. Culling intervals (± SEM) in served females and farrowed sows were 72.2 ± 0.21 and 9.4 ± 0.04 days, respectively. The ratio of served females to farrowed sows was 1.0:2.4. Prolonged culling intervals for both served females and farrowed sows were associated with low parity, reproductive failure and being fed on ordinary farms (P < 0.05). Prolonged culling intervals for served gilts were associated with being fed on ordinary farms and being returned (P < 0.05). In addition, prolonged culling intervals for served sows were associated with prolonged lactation length and weaning-to-first-service interval of 0-6 days (P < 0.05). Furthermore, served females that were culled at parities 0-3 on high-performing farms had 11.4-13.7 days shorter culling intervals than those on ordinary farms (P < 0.05). For farrowed sows, prolonged culling intervals were associated with sows having 16 or more pigs born alive, farrowing 0 stillborn piglets and being fed on ordinary farms (P < 0.05). Additionally, farrowed sows that were culled only parity 1 on high-performing farms had 4.0 days shorter culling intervals than those on ordinary farms (P < 0.05). In conclusion, to reduce culling intervals and improve farm productivity, we recommend keeping an eye on at-risk females and also reconsidering culling policy for farrowed sows, especially at low parity on ordinary farms.

The objectives of this retrospective swine cohort study were 1) to characterize return occurrences in gilts, 2) to determine risk factors for a return occurrence in gilts, and 3) to compare both reproductive performance across parities and lifetime performance between returned gilts and no-return gilts. Data from farm-entry to removal included 832,865 first service records of 160,937 females on 155 Spanish farms, served between 2011 and 2016. Two farm categories were defined on the basis of the upper 25th percentile of the farm means of the number of pigs weaned per sow per year: high-performing farms (> 26.2 pigs) and ordinary farms (≤ 26.2 pigs). Mixed-effects models were applied to by-parity data and lifetime data. For served gilts the mean return occurrence was 12.2%, with one, two and three or more return occurrences occurring in 9.7, 2.1 and 0.4% of gilts, respectively. Removal due to reproductive failure was done for 15.6% of returned gilts compared with only 11.2% of no-return gilts. Also, 6.3-13.3% of the returned gilts were returned again at subsequent parities, compared with only 5.8-10.5% of no-return gilts. A higher return risk for gilts was associated with summer season and being fed on ordinary farms (P < 0.05). With regard to lifetime performance, the parity at removal of returned gilts was 1.0 lower than for no-return gilts, but the returned gilts produced only 0.1 fewer lifetime pigs born alive per parity (P < 0.05). Also, there was no difference between two farm groups for parity at removal (P = 0.06; 4.5 vs. 4.7). However, returned gilts on high-performing and ordinary farms had 57.2 and 61.5 more lifetime non-productive days, respectively than no-return gilts (P < 0.05). With regard to subsequent reproductive performance, the proportion of 0-6 days of subsequent weaning-to-first-service interval across parities was 2.3-7.9% less for returned gilts than for no-return gilts (P < 0.05). In conclusion, returned gilts had lower longevity and more non-productive days than no-return gilts, but they produced similar numbers of pigs born alive per parity. Therefore, management of returned gilts is critical to reduce non-productive days.