Study of the contribution of the 7Be(d, p) reaction to the 7Li problem in the Big-Bang Nucleosynthesis

Our research goal is to measure the 7Be(d, p) reaction to shed light on the 7Li problem in the Big-Bang Nucleosynthesis. We are developing an unstable 7Be target for a high-resolution measurement of the 7Be(d, p)8Be reaction. We plan to compare two methods to producethe 7Be target: (1) Activation method, and (2) Implantation method. We performed an activation methodexperiment at the Van de Graaff at Osaka University, and obtained the cross-section data. A second experiment to obtain more accurate data will take place at the Tandem Electrostatic Accelerator, Kobe University. We have also made a 7Be target with implantation method at CRIB, Center for Nuclear Study, Univer-sity of Tokyo. An experiment to measure the (d, p) reaction with the implanted target is scheduled for 2018 at Japan Atomic Energy Agency, tandem facility.

Isomeric 26Al beam production with CRIB

We performed an experiment to measure proton resonant elastic scattering of a mixed 26m,gAl beam with a thick target in inverse kinematics by using CNS RI beam sep-arator, located at RIKEN Nishina Center. It aimed to search for strong proton resonances and determine level properties of low spin-parity states in 27Si. Diagnosis of the 26mAl purity of the beam by annihilation radiation are discussed.

The effect for Japanese workers of a self-help computerized cognitive behaviour therapy program with a supplement soft drink

Background

Computerized cognitive behaviour therapy (CCBT) programs can provide a useful self-help approach to the treatment of psychological problems. Previous studies have shown that CCBT has moderate effects on depression, insomnia, and anxiety. The present study investigated whether a supplement drink that includes L-carnosine enhances the effect of CCBT on psychological well-being.

Methods

Eighty-seven participants were randomly allocated to a control group, CCBT, or CCBT with supplement drink. The CCBT and CCBT with supplement drink groups received six weekly self-help CCBT program instalments, which consisted of psycho-education about stress management and coping, behaviour activation, and cognitive restructuring. The CCBT group consumed a bottle of the supplement soft drink every morning through the 6 weeks. This program was delivered by an e-learning system on demand and also included a self-help guidebook. Seventy-two participants completed the program or were assess at the end of the study.

Results

ANOVA revealed that there were significant interactions (times × groups) for POMS tension-anxiety and fatigue. The CCBT group showed significantly improved tension-anxiety scores, whereas the CCBT with drink group showed significant improvements on fatigue.

Conclusion

The self-help CCBT program reduced the subjective experience of tension-anxiety in this group of workers. The addition of a supplement drink enhanced the effect of CCBT on fatigue, providing one possible approach to enhancement of such programs.

Trial registration

This study was registered on September 2, 2016 at UMIN. The registration number is UMIN000023903.

Brief internet-based cognitive behavior therapy program with a supplement drink improved anxiety and somatic symptoms in Japanese workers

Background

Self-help cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is a useful approach for the treatment of psychological problems. Recent research on the effectiveness of self-help internet-based CBT (ICBT) indicates that the paradigm moderately improves psychological problems. Furthermore, previous studies have shown that food and drinks containing supplements improve various health conditions. We investigated the effect of a brief self-help ICBT administered with a supplement drink on psychological well-being and somatic symptoms.

Methods

In total, 101 healthy workers were enrolled in the 4-week ICBT program, which consisted of psychoeducation on stress management, behavior activation, and cognitive restructuring. The supplement soft drink was taken every day during the program. The participants were instructed to watch on-demand video clips and read the self-help guidebook and supporting comic strip weekly on the Internet or smartphone. The Japanese version of the Profile of Mood States (POMS) was administered before and after completion of the program. Scores on the POMS tension-anxiety (POMS-TA), depression (POMS-D), and fatigue (POMS-F) subscales were used to assess the effect of the program. Somatic symptoms were assessed using the Brief Job Stress Questionnaire.

Results

In total, 75 participants continued the program for 4 weeks; however, of those, 27 failed to complete all weekly tasks or meet the post-assessment deadlines. Therefore, the data of 48 participants were included in the analysis. Pre-post intervention comparisons using paired t-tests revealed significant improvement on the POMS-TA, but not the POMS-D or POMS-F subscales. Moreover, participants reported a significant reduction in the severity of low back pain.

Conclusion

Our brief intervention moderately improved anxiety levels and the symptom of low back pain. These findings suggest that the brief ICBT program is effective in non-patient populations. Future directions for brief ICBT are discussed.

Trial registration

This study was registered on February 10, 2016 at UMIN. The registration number is UMIN000020962.

Focused Ultrasound Treatment, Present and Future

The discovery that ultrasound waves could be focused inside the skull and heated to high temperatures at a focal point goes back to 1944. However, because the skull causes the ultrasound waves to attenuate and scatter, it was believed that application of this technology would be difficult, and that it would be impossible to use this approach in the surgical treatment of intracranial diseases. Eventually, magnetic resonance image guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) surgery began being used to treat uterine fibroids, breast cancer and bone metastasis and locally confined prostate cancer. In the first ten years of the 21st century, new developments in this technology have been achieved, broadening the scope of practical application, and treatment is now being performed in various countries around the world. In 2011, third-generation transcranial focused ultrasound made it possible to use thermocoagulation and create intracranial lesions measuring 2 to 6 mm in diameter with a precision of around 1 mm. It was also possible to produce MR images which relay information of temperature changes in real time, enabling a shift from reversible test heating to irreversible therapeutic heating. This gave rise to the possibility of a minimally-invasive treatment with outcomes similar to those of conventional brain surgery. This method is paving the way to a new future not only in functional neurosurgery, but in cranial neurosurgery targeting conditions such as epilepsy and brain tumors, among others. In this paper, we describe the current state and future outlook of magnetic resonance image guided focused ultrasound, which uses computed tomography (CT) bone images in combination with MRI monitoring of brain temperature.