Employing a method of exact diagonalization for finite-size systems, we investigate the magnetization curve in the ground state of an antiferromagnetic spin-1/2 ladder with additional exchange interactions on diagonal bonds, which is equivalent to an antiferromagnetic spin-1/2 chain with bond-alternating nearest-neighbor and uniform next-nearest-neighbor interactions. It is found that a half-plateau appears in the magnetization curve in a certain range of the interaction constants. This result is discussed in connection with the necessary condition for the appearance of the plateau, recently given by Oshikawa et al.Comment: 9 pages; 2 JPG figures; plain TEX; to be published in Physica B (Proc. 5th Int. Symp. on Research in High Magnetic Fields, Sydney, 1997

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Objective and Methods An SGLT2 inhibitor (ipragliflozin, dapagliflozin, luseogliflozin, tofogliflozin, or canagliflozin) was administered to 132 outpatients with type 2 diabetes mellitus with or without other antidiabetic drugs for 6 months to evaluate its efficacy, the incidence of adverse events, and its influence on the renal function. Results The patient's mean glycated hemoglobin level significantly improved from 7.52±1.16% to 6.95± 0.98% (p<0.001). The body weight of the patients was significantly reduced from 78.0±15.3 kg to 75.6±15.1 kg (p<0.001). The estimated visceral fat area was also significantly reduced from 108.4±44.6 cm 2 to 94.5± 45.3 cm 2 (p<0.001). The waist circumference, blood pressure, serum alanine aminotransferase, γ-glutamyl transpeptidase, and uric acid levels also showed a significant decrease. The urinary albumin/creatinine ratio (U-ACR) was significantly reduced in the patients whose U-ACR levels were 30-300 mg/gCr at the baseline. The mean eGFR significantly decreased in the patients with a pre-treatment eGFR value of ! 90 mL/min/1.73 m 2 but remained unchanged in the patients with a pre-treatment value of <90 mL/min/1.73 m 2 . A total of 13 adverse events were noted, including systemic eruption (n=1), cystitis (n=2), pudendal pruritus (n=2), nausea (n=1), malaise (n=1), a strong hunger sensation and increased food ingestion (n=1), and non-serious hypoglycemia (n=5). Conclusion SGLT2 inhibitors seemed to be useful in the treatment of obese type 2 diabetes mellitus patients. Furthermore, these data suggest that SGLT2 inhibitors may protect the renal function.

Explosion limitExplosion pressure Burgess-Wheeler law Gas explosion Deflagration index a b s t r a c tThe explosion properties of alkane/nitrous oxide mixtures were investigated and were compared with those of the corresponding alkane/oxygen and alkane/air mixtures. The explosion properties were characterized by three parameters: the explosion limit, explosion pressure, and deflagration index. For the same alkane, the order of the lower explosion limits (LELs) of the mixtures was found to be alkane/oxygen ≈ alkane/air > alkane/nitrous oxide. In addition, the mixtures containing nitrous oxide tended to exhibit higher explosion pressures than the corresponding mixtures containing oxygen under fuel-lean conditions. The Burgess-Wheeler law was also observed to hold for the mixtures containing nitrous oxide.

Dexmedetomidine depressed resting ventilation and the respiratory response to CO(2), but it did not induce profound hypoxemia or hypercapnia in rabbits.