都市問題の分析に向けたナレッジグラフの構築と時間的・空間的・課題横断的な拡充手法の開発

電気通信大学201

Toxicity of metal debris from hip implants

Hip implants are commonly made of cobalt-chromium and titanium alloys. Once inside the body, implants wear and corrode, releasing metal particles and ions into the local tissue and blood. Metal debris can cause local adverse effects, such as bone loss and tissue necrosis, ultimately leading to implant failure. More recently, systemic cobalt toxicity has gained publicity as reports of neurotoxicity, cardiomyopathy and hypothyroidism increased among recipients of metal hip implants. Widespread dissemination of metal debris, and its accumulation in organ tissue, is of a particular concern. The aim of this thesis is to better understand how metallic implant debris affects the body, and how blood metal levels relate to any toxicity symptoms. Prevalence of neurotoxicity and cognitive decline among patients with a history of highly elevated blood cobalt was assessed, using a set of validated questionnaires. Although a number of statistically significant differences were detected between the high cobalt group and controls, clinically relevant neuro-cognitive adverse effects were not observed. Distribution and chemical speciation of cobalt, chromium and titanium deposits were investigated in cadaveric samples of organs from hip replacement patients. Though synchrotron analysis identified the presence of highly oxidised chromium, further work is needed to assess if the results can be extrapolated to the in vivo situation. Genetic factors that might predispose some patients to the adverse effects of cobalt were explored in vitro, using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technology. Results of the feasibility study identified several candidate genes for further investigation. Blood titanium was measured in a large group of patients with titanium-based implants, using high resolution ICP-MS. This allowed a reliable laboratory reference range to be defined for use in future patient monitoring. Results from this thesis inform on potential consequences of implant degradation, and demonstrate the clinical utility of blood metal measurements to monitor implant performance

Assessing the health status of managed honeybee colonies (HEALTHY-B): a toolbox to facilitate harmonised data collection

Tools are provided to assess the health status of managed honeybee colonies by facilitating further harmonisation of data collection and reporting, design of field surveys across the European Union (EU) and analysis of data on bee health. The toolbox is based on characteristics of a healthy managed honeybee colony: an adequate size, demographic structure and behaviour; an adequate production of bee products (both in relation to the annual life cycle of the colony and the geographical location); and provision of pollination services. The attributes ‘queen presence and performance’, ‘demography of the colony’, ‘in-hive products’ and ‘disease, infection and infestation’ could be directly measured in field conditions across the EU, whereas ‘behaviour and physiology’ is mainly assessed through experimental studies. Analysing the resource providing unit, in particular land cover/use, of a honeybee colony is very important when assessing its health status, but tools are currently lacking that could be used at apiary level in field surveys across the EU. Data on ‘beekeeping management practices’ and ‘environmental drivers’ can be collected via questionnaires and available databases, respectively. The capacity to provide pollination services is regarded as an indication of a healthy colony, but it is assessed only in relation to the provision of honey because technical limitations hamper the assessment of pollination as regulating service (e.g. to pollinate wild plants) in field surveys across the EU. Integrating multiple attributes of honeybee health, for instance, via a Health Status Index, is required to support a holistic assessment. Examples are provided on how the toolbox could be used by different stakeholders. Continued interaction between the Member State organisations, the EU Reference Laboratory and EFSA is required to further validate methods and facilitate the efficient use of precise and accurate bee health data that are collected by many initiatives throughout the EU

Agile Processes in Software Engineering and Extreme Programming – Workshops

This open access book constitutes papers from the 5 research workshops, the poster presentations, as well as two panel discussions which were presented at XP 2021, the 22nd International Conference on Agile Software Development, which was held online during June 14-18, 2021. XP is the premier agile software development conference combining research and practice. It is a unique forum where agile researchers, practitioners, thought leaders, coaches, and trainers get together to present and discuss their most recent innovations, research results, experiences, concerns, challenges, and trends. XP conferences provide an informal environment to learn and trigger discussions and welcome both people new to agile and seasoned agile practitioners. The 18 papers included in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from overall 37 submissions. They stem from the following workshops: 3rd International Workshop on Agile Transformation 9th International Workshop on Large-Scale Agile Development 1st International Workshop on Agile Sustainability 4th International Workshop on Software-Intensive Business 2nd International Workshop on Agility with Microservices Programmin

Metallic nanoparticles with polymeric shell: A multifunctional platform for application to biosensor

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD (Chemistry)Tuberculosis (TB) is an airborne disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) that usually affects the lungs leading to severe coughing, fever and chest pains. It was estimated that over 9.6 million people worldwide developed TB and 1.5 million died from the infectious disease of which 12 % were co-infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the year 2015. In 2016 the statistics increased to a total of 1.7 million people reportedly died from TB with an estimated 10.4 million new cases of TB diagnosed worldwide. The development of the efficient point-of-care systems that are ultra-sensitive, cheap and readily available is essential in order to address and control the spread of the tuberculosis (TB) disease and multidrugresistant tuberculosis

Polysulfone nanocomposites for electrochemical screening of antibiotic residues

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD (Chemistry)Antibiotics are defined as any class of organic molecule that kills or inhibits microbes by specific interactions with bacterial targets. Antibiotics may be classified based on bacterial spectrum (broad versus narrow), route of administration, type of activity (bactericidal versus bacteriostatic), and origin (natural versus synthesized), and can also be classified based on their chemical structure. The intensive use of antibiotics for human (domestic and hospital use), veterinary and agriculture purposes, these compounds are continuously released into the environment from anthropogenic sources, such as wastewater treatment plants which are considered as one of the major source of evolution and spreading of antibiotic resistance into the environment

Performance of people with mild cognitive impairment or early Alzheimer's disease on the behavioural assessment of the dysexecutive syndrome test battery

Aim: Decline in executive functioning in Mild Cognitive Impairment has only been investigated with single tests to date. A battery of executive function tasks (BADS: Behavioural Assessment of the Dysexecutive Syndrome) was used to investigate and compare the extent of executive function difficulties in people with Mild Cognitive Impairment and early Alzheimer Disease. Degree and prevalence of decline were examined for each of the groups, and performance patterns compared between the two groups. Participants: 37 Participants (19 MCI, 18 early AD) were recruited from one urban, one suburban and one rural centre. Participants were selected on the basis of clinical judgments made by local psychiatrists, and for the MCI group checked against Petersen criteria (1999) as far as information was accessible to the main researcher. Probable Alzheimer's disease had been diagnosed either according to ICD- 10 criteria (centres I and 3) or NINCDS-ADRDA criteria (centre 2). Groups did not differ significantly on socio-demographic variables. Design: A mixed cross-sectional exploratory design was employed, examining performance on executive function tasks within each of two clinical groups separately, and comparing performance between the two clinical groups. Effects of confounding variables were examined, and subsequently effects of 'age' were controlled for. Main results: Both groups showed decline on executive functioning tasks, but this was mild in the MCI group compared to normative data, whereas significantly poorer performance was observed in the early AD group. Impairment was not ubiquitous in either group. Whereas patterns of performance across subtests were similar for both groups, performance levels for different subtests differed. Hence different tasks might be differentially suited to assess executive function deficits in each group

Science of Societal Safety

This open access book covers comprehensive but fundamental principles and concepts of disaster and accident prevention and mitigation, countermeasures, and recovery from disasters or accidents including treatment and care of the victims. Safety and security problems in our society involve not only engineering but also social, legal, economic, cultural, and psychological issues. The enhancement needed for societal safety includes comprehensive activities of all aspects from precaution to recovery, not only of people but also of governments. In this context, the authors, members of the Faculty of Societal Safety Science, Kansai University, conducted many discussions and concluded that the major strategy is consistent independently of the type and magnitude of disaster or accident, being also the principle of the foundation of our faculty. The topics treated in this book are rather widely distributed but are well organized sequentially to provide a clear understanding of the principles of societal safety. In the first part the fundamental concepts of safety are discussed. The second part deals with risks in the societal and natural environment. Then follows, in the third part, a description of the quantitative estimation of risk and its assessment and management. The fourth part is devoted to disaster prevention, mitigation, and recovery systems. The final, fifth part presents a future perspective of societal safety science. Thorough reading of this introductory volume of societal safety science provides a clear image of the issues. This is largely because the Japanese have suffered often from natural disasters and not only have gained much valuable information about disasters but also have accumulated a store of experience. We are still in the process of reconstruction from the Great East Japan earthquake and the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident. This book is especially valuable therefore in studying the safety and security of people and their societies