We report the results of a multi-band observing campaign on the famous blazar 3C 279 conducted during a phase of increased activity from 2013 December to 2014 April, including first observations of it with NuSTAR. The γ-ray emission of the source measured by Fermi-LAT showed multiple distinct flares reaching the highest flux level measured in this object since the beginning of the Fermi mission, with F(E > 100 MeV) of 10 −5 photons cm −2 s −1 , and with a flux doubling time scale as short as 2 hours. The γ-ray spectrum during one of the flares was very hard, with an index of Γ γ = 1.7 ± 0.1, which is rarely seen in flat spectrum radio quasars. The lack of concurrent optical variability implies a very high Compton dominance parameter L γ /L syn > 300. Two 1-day NuSTAR observations with accompanying Swift pointings were separated by 2 weeks, probing different levels of source activity. While the 0.5−70 keV X-ray spectrum obtained during the first pointing, and fitted jointly with Swift-XRT is well-described by a simple power law, the second joint observation showed an unusual spectral structure: the spectrum softens by ∆Γ X ≃ 0.4 at ∼ 4 keV. Modeling the broad-band SED during this flare with the standard synchrotron plus inverse Compton model requires: (1) the location of the γ-ray emitting region is comparable with the broad line region radius, (2) a very hard electron energy distribution index p ≃ 1, (3) total jet power significantly exceeding the accretion disk luminosity L j /L d 10, and (4) extremely low jet magnetization with L B /L j 10 −4 . We also find that single-zone models that match the observed γ-ray and optical spectra cannot satisfactorily explain the production of X-ray emission.

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Patients who had advanced HCC with favorable hepatic reserve capacity and a lower AFP level were suitable candidates for HAIC. Moreover, the regimen using low-dose CDDP and 5-FU with leucovorin/isovorin may be suitable for advanced HCC patients, because of the improvement in the response rate and survival compared with the low-dose CDDP and 5-FU regimen without leucovorin/isovorin.

Objectives:The purpose of this study was to investigate the electromechanical properties of atrophied muscle in patients with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction and to examine the relationship of changes in these properties for a voluntarily elicited maximal isometric contraction and peripherally stimulated twitch contraction. Background: It is not known if, following ACL reconstruction, a prolonged reaction time to a sudden stimulus is due to impaired proprioception in the knee joint, a prolonged processing interval in the central nervous system, or a greater elasticity in the series elastic component of the quadriceps femoris. Methods: Seventeen patients were recruited 2 to 3 months following a unilateral ACL reconstruction. Both the involved leg (ACL-invo group) and the uninvolved leg (ACL-uninvo group) were studied. Twenty-two athletes (training group) and 18 control subjects (control group) were also tested. These subjects performed voluntary maximal isometric contraction (MVC) of the quadriceps femoris. Maximal twitch response was also elicited by a supramaximal electrical stimulation to the femoral nerve, and surface electromyograms were recorded from the vastus lateralis in all four groups. Results: Total reaction time for MVC in the ACL-invo group (250.47 ms) was prolonged compared to that of the control and training groups. Twitch response in the ACL-invo group (25.26 ms) was prolonged compared to that of the other three groups. Premotor time during both MVC and twitch response did not differ among the four groups. Electromechanical delay during MVC (53.62 ms) and the evoked electromechanical delay in twitch response (20.04 ms) were prolonged in the ACL-invo group as compared to the other three groups. Conclusions: Prolonged electromechanical delay in twitch response may be due to peripheral physiological disruptions (eg, stiffness of the series elastic component, changes of peripheral Science and Biomedical Engineering, Tsukuba, muscle fiber-type composition, or a decrease in function of the excitation-contraction coupling process). A prolonged electromechanical delay in twitch response can also explain the prolonged electromechanical delay observed for MVC. These findings suggest that prolonged total reaction time in MVC, when secondary to a visual stimulus in atrophied human quadriceps femoris muscle after ACL reconstruction, may be principally due to prolongation of electromechanical delay produced by peripheral physiological alterations. However, the contribution of premotor time to prolonged total reaction time was not revealed. Our results do not completely eliminate the possibility that central nervous system processing time and other neural factors are involved in the prolongation of reaction time. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2002;32:158-165.

From 2013 April to 2014 April, we performed X-ray and optical simultaneous monitoring of the type 1.5 Seyfert galaxy NGC3516. We employed Suzaku and five Japanese ground-based telescopes-the Pirka, Kiso Schmidt, Nayuta, MITSuME, and the Kanata telescopes. The Suzaku observations were conducted seven times with various intervals ranging from days or weeks to months, with an exposure of ∼50 ks each. The optical B-band observations not only covered those of Suzaku almost simultaneously, but also followed the source as frequently as possible. As a result, NGC3516 was found in its faint phase with a 2-10 keV flux of 0.21-2.70×10 −11 erg s. The 2-45 keV X-ray spectra were composed of a dominant variable hard power-law (PL) continuum with a photon index of ∼1.7 and a nonrelativistic reflection component with a prominent Fe-Kα emission line. Producing the B-band light curve by differential image photometry, we found that the B-band flux changed by ∼2.7×10 −11 erg s, which is comparable to the X-ray variation, and we detected a significant flux correlation between the hard PL component in X-rays and the B-band radiation, for the first time in NGC3516. By examining their correlation, we found that the X-ray flux preceded that in the B band by -+ 2.0 0.6 0.7 days (1σ error). Although this result supports the X-ray reprocessing model, the derived lag is too large to be explained by the standard view, which assumes a "lamppost"-type X-ray illuminator located near a standard accretion disk. Our results are better explained by assuming a hot accretion flow and a truncated disk.