Seismic Ground Settlement and Deformation Behavior of Reclaimed Lands in the 1995 Kobe Earthquake

After the 1995 Kobe Earthquake, particular attention has been paid on the settlement observed at reclaimed lands located at between Osaka and Kobe, in reference to their geological characteristics. In this paper, the ground surface elevations before and after the 1995 Kobe Earthquake were compared to evaluate the seismic ground settlement of reclaimed lands. Calculated settlements by using an available empirical formula were compared with measured ones. A further study was carried out to investigate the seismic ground settlement calculated by using a numerical simulation program called “FLIP” at a selected reclaimed land. In reference to the data available from published papers on seismic ground settlement as measured, attempts were made to identify in a practical manner such settlement with the degree of the earthquake recorded at each reclaimed lands as well as the grain size and N value of the filled layer there. The proposed method for estimating seismic ground settlement caused by earthquake is estimated for its applicability and accuracy by using a simulation program

耳下腺気腫の2症例

耳下腺腫脹は臨床でしばしば遭遇する症状であり,原因となる病態は様々あるが,稀な疾患として耳下腺気腫がある.耳下腺気腫とは口腔内圧上昇によりステノン管から逆行性に空気が迷入し耳下腺腫大をきたす病態である.今回我々は耳下腺気腫の2症例を経験したので報告する.1症例目は6才男児で左耳下部の疼痛,腫脹を反復したため小児科から紹介.左耳下腺の圧迫でステノン管開口部から泡沫状唾液の流出があり,CT 検査でステノン管内に空気像を認め,左耳下腺気腫と診断された.経過中に頬を膨らませる習癖が確認され,習癖の禁止と抗菌薬処方で保存的に改善した.2症例目は43歳女性で左耳下部の腫脹と疼痛を主訴に当科を紹介受診.画像検査にて迷入した空気によるステノン管拡張と耳下腺内の空気像を認めたため,左耳下腺気腫と診断された.明らかな誘因は確認できず,抗菌薬処方で保存的に改善した.耳下腺腫脹には様々な原因が挙げられ,日常診療でも散見される症状である.急性発症で感染が疑われる場合には,抗菌薬投与で経過観察され軽快している症例も多数存在すると思われる.上述の経過観察とされる症例中にも耳下腺気腫である症例がいくつか含まれている可能性が示唆された.Parotid gland swelling is a familiar symptom in clinical practice and is caused by many conditions. However, swelling from pneumoparotitis is relatively rare. In pneumoparotitis, there is insufflation of air or gas in the retrograde direction up Stensen\u27s duct due to a rise in intraoral pressure. Here, we report two cases of pneumoparotitis. In Case 1, a 6-year-old boy was referred from the pediatrics department of our hospital because of recurrent swelling and pain in the left parotid region. Bubbles were seen in the saliva that discharged from Stensen\u27s duct by pressing the left parotid gland. In the bloodanalysis, serum amylase level was increased without an elevation of the white blood cell count and CRP. Computed tomography showed air in Stensen\u27s duct, and the diagnosis of pneumoparotitis of the left parotid gland was made. During follow-up, we found he had a habit of blowing his cheeks. The pneumoparotitis resolved after his habit was stopped and administration of antibiotics. In Case 2, a 43-year-old woman was referred to our hospital because of swelling and pain in the left parotid region. Blood analysis showed elevation of serum amylase without clear signs of infection. Radiologic evaluation demonstrated enlargement of Stensen\u27s duct due to retrograde passage of air and emphysema in the left parotid gland. The condition was diagnosed as pneumoparotitis of the left parotid gland. We were unable to identify a cause in this case. Symptoms were alleviated after the administration of antibiotics. Many diseases cause parotid gland swelling. We often encounter this symptom in clinical practice. In cases where infection of the parotid gland was suspected from the acute onset of symptoms, it seems that administration of antibiotics and follow-up were conducted without a thorough examination. Our findings suggest that pneumoparotitis may have occurred in some of these cases

Input Current-Ripple Consideration for the Pulse-link DC-AC Converter for Fuel Cells by Small Series LC Circuit

This paper mentions the input current ripple reduction method of the Pulse-link DC-AC Converter for Fuel Cells. The conventional DC-AC converter for fuel cells is interpolated large capacitor between boost converter stage and PWM inverter stage. That capacitor disturbs the size reduction of this unit. To overcome this problem, authors have proposed a novel topology called as Pulse-link DC-AC converter. The proposed topology provides boosted-voltage pulse directly to PWM inverter. This topology does not require large capacitor between two stages. Instead, small values of inductor and capacitor are connected series and inserted between two stages in parallel. This paper examines the relationship between the inductor and capacitor values and input current-ripple. As the result, inductor value has the relationship with current-ripple.24th Annual IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition, APEC 2009; Washington, DC; 15 February 2009 through 19 February 200

DETERMINATION OF THE ELECTRON DENSITY DISTRIBUTION IN TETRAGONAL BaTiOa USING THE MAXIMUM ENTROPY METHOD

ABSTRACT Synchrotron radiation and the maximum entropy method (MEM) were used to study the nature of chemical bonding in tetragonal BaTiOa, and the results were compared to those of cubic SrTiOa. The MEM charge-density map revealed that Ba is essentially ionic, while Ti-0 bond is covalent. A difference in the charge-density distributions of Ti-0 bonds in BaTi and SrTiOa is detected, even though the Ti-0 bonds in these compounds are essentially covalent in nature. The covalency of the Ti-0 bond is, however, weaker in BaTiOa than in SrTiOa. This suggests that BaTi is more ionic. The difference in structure phase transitions between BaTi and SrTiOs can be attributed to the variations in the nature of the Ti-0 bonds in these two compounds

Assessment of epigenetic alterations in early colorectal lesions containing BRAF mutations

金沢大学医薬保健学総合研究科先進的地域医療研究講座 = Department of Advanced Research in Community MedicineTo clarify the molecular and clinicopathological characteristics of colorectal serrated lesions, we assessed the DNA methylation of cancer-associated genes in a cohort of BRAF-mutant precancerous lesions from 94 individuals. We then compared those results with the lesions’ clinicopathological features, especially colorectal subsites. The lesions included hyperplastic polyps (n = 16), traditional serrated adenomas (TSAs) (n = 15), TSAs with sessile serrated adenomas (SSAs) (n = 6), SSAs (n = 49) and SSAs with dysplasia (n = 16). The prevalence of lesions exhibiting the CpG island methylator phenotype (CIMP) was lower in the sigmoid colon and rectum than in other bowel subsites, including the cecum, ascending, transverse and descending colon. In addition, several cancer-associated genes showed higher methylation levels within lesions in the proximal to sigmoid colon than in the sigmoid colon and rectum. These results indicate that the methylation status of lesions with BRAF mutation is strongly associated with their location, histological findings and neoplastic pathways. By contrast, no difference in aberrant DNA methylation was observed in normal-appearing background colonic mucosa along the bowel subsites, which may indicate the absence of an epigenetic field defect