Platform Development for Drone Utilization in the Architectural Field

The utilization of drones is expected to streamline the process of building inspection in Japan; however, no known drone utilization platform exists in the region‘s architectural sector. Therefore, in this study we pioneered the development of a drone platform based on an industry- government-academia collaboration within Japan‘s architectural field. We first investigated drone related trends, such as a utilization roadmap, flight rules, the drone market, new technologies and issues relating to the architecture field. Subsequently, we worked on solutions for drone utilization in the building sector, including methods for building inspection, determination of drone-flight risk factors relative to building inspection and the creation of a drone safety operation manual. Through field tests, we validated the effectiveness of the drone platform in building inspection, i.e., the determination of a cost-time relation during inspection, the merits of applying a high-resolution camera for inspection, the possibility of utilizing an infrared camera for exfoliation detection in exterior wall tiles and the development and efficiency of a built-in automatic inspection system. Furthermore, trial tests were conducted for the application of a drone-inspection system in disaster areas and a micro-drone in small building spaces. The findings of this study confirmed that the new drone platform achieved inspection- and disaster-related objectives within the architectural sector

Action of Pyrroloquinolinequinol As an Antioxidant Against Lipid Peroxidation in Solution

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from: http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1089/ars.1999.1.4-547.The activities of pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ), a coenzyme of methanol dehydrogenase and amine oxidase, and its reduced form pyrroloquinoline quinol (PQQH2 ) as an antioxidant have been measured in solution. PQQH2 was stable in the absence of oxygen but rapidly auto-oxidized to PQQ in the presence of oxygen in water. PQQH2 was stable in an aprotic solvent such as acetonitrile, even in air. PQQ did not exert appreciable antioxidant activity, whereas PQQH2 exerted higher reactivity than a-tocopherol toward galvinoxyl radical and peroxyl radical. PQQH2 acted as a potent antioxidant against the oxidation of methyl linoleate in acetonitrile induced by azo compound and produced a clear induction period, from which the apparent stoichiometric number was obtained as 1.1. PQQH2 reduced the a-tocopheroxyl radical and spared a-tocopherol in the oxidation of methyl linoleate. These results suggest that PQQH2 may act as a potent antioxidant, particularly in combination with a-tocopherol. Antiox. Redox Signal. 1, 547-554

Photobiologic and Photoimmunologic Characteristics of XPA Gene-Deficient Mice

Xeroderma pigmentosum group A (XPA) gene-deficient mice cannot repair UV-induced DNA damage and easily develop skin cancers by UV irradiation. Just like human XP patients, homozygous (–/–) mice developed stronger longer-lasting acute inflammation than did wild-type mice after a single irradiation with UVB. Moreover, the model mice showed more severe UV-induced damage of keratinocytes and Langerhans cells than did the control mice. UVB-induced local and systemic immunosuppression was greatly enhanced in the (–/–) mice. Treatment with indomethacin, an inhibitor of prostaglandin (PG) synthesis, inhibited UV-induced inflammation and abrogated immunosuppression. In XPA-deficient mice, the amount of PGE2 and the expression level of COX-2 mRNA greatly increased after UVB irradiation compared with wild-type mice. These results suggest that the excess DNA photoproducts remaining in XPA-deficient cells after UV radiation induce COX-2 expression and subsequently produce a high amount of PGE2, which causes the enhancement of inflammation and immunosuppression. In XPA-deficient mice, the natural killer cell activity significantly decreased after repeated exposures to UVB. Our experimental data indicate that cancer development in XP patients involves not only mutagenesis due to the defect in DNA repair, but also the enhanced UV-immunosuppression and intensified impairment of natural killer function

Development of an Apparatus for Measuring the Load Acting on Joint Sealant when Movement Occurs

The sealant that fills the joints of an exterior walls of building is subjected to weather loads, such as sunlight, ambient temperature, and rain, as well as a movement of the joints. As a result, the sealant gradually deteriorates under the combined deterioration factors of weathering and movement. Meanwhile, the results of a 15-year outdoor dynamic exposure test conducted in Japan using the methodology of ISO 11617 showed that the progress of damage varies greatly depending on the type of sealant and the stress relaxation rate. However, the mechanism of damage progression is unclear. In the present study, we focused on the load when the sealant moves and developed a load-measuring apparatus as the first step in clarifying the relationship between the progress of damage and the load. The load was measured at −20, 23, and 40 °C for test specimens with different stress relaxation rates, and it was confirmed that the developed load-measuring apparatus was able to measure the load correctly. Furthermore, it was shown that it is difficult for the stress of the sealant with a high stress relaxation rate to relax over time at low temperature but easy at high temperature, and the load increases when switching from the compressed state to the extended state

Characteristics of the Changes in the Compressive and Tensile Stress of the Construction Sealant under Cyclic Movement

A compact fatigue testing machine to quantitatively evaluate the effects of this complex degradation of sealants and the load change of the sealant under dynamic fatigue has been developed. The developed fatigue testing machine is compact with dimensions of (width) 100 × (length) 135 × (height) 110 mm. It can be installed in an outdoor exposure test site or in a chamber. Thus, this machine can be used for performing various compounded accelerated degradation tests. We report the use of this testing machine to examine the effects of this complex degradation of sealants and the load change of the sealant under dynamic fatigue

A GO intervention program for enhancing elementary school children's cognitive functions and control abilities of emotion and behavior: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Executive function is critical for children's healthy development. We propose an intervention program to enhance children's executive function using the game, GO. Many neuroimaging studies have revealed that playing GO is related to executive function. In addition, previous studies also revealed that executive function can be enhanced by training. We will perform a randomized controlled trial to investigate the effectiveness of a GO intervention group and a control group without intervention. METHODS/DESIGN: 35 elementary school children aged 8 to 10 were recruited from Edogawa elementary school in Tokyo, Japan. They will be randomized into two groups; either the 5-week GO intervention group or no-intervention control group. We will ask the participants of the intervention group to join the GO course which will be held once every week for five weeks (total: six times). In the GO course, the children will be taught GO by the GO masters of the Nihon Ki-in and enjoy it for an hour. Besides the course, the participants will perform GO problems about twenty minutes a day, three times a week during the intervention period. We will use the Stroop task, the digit span, the Raven's colored progressive matrices, the Span-board task, and the Behavioral inhibition/behavioral activation scale for the outcome measures. Outcomes will be measured at a baseline (Assessment 1) and 5 weeks after the intervention program started (Assessment 2). The intervention group will be compared with the control group using one-way analyses of covariance with the difference between Assessment 1 and Assessment 2 measures as dependent variables and pretest scores as covariates. DISCUSSION: To our knowledge, this study will be the first RCT to investigate the efficacy of a GO intervention program for elementary school children. If this intervention is effective, we will be able to take the next steps in making an educational program to enhance children's executive function and other cognitive abilities using GO. In addition, we further will investigate the transfer effects of the GO intervention program through executive function. We also will investigate neuroplasticity with the GO intervention using neuroimaging. TRIAL REGISTRATION: UMIN Clinical Trials Registry UMIN00000632

Impact of admission glycemia and glycosylated hemoglobin A1c on long-term clinical outcomes of non-diabetic patients with acute coronary syndrome

AbstractBackgroundAdmission glucose levels have proven to be a predictor in patients with acute myocardial infarction and elevated glycosylated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, even in patients without diabetes. However, the effect of both admission glucose and HbA1c levels on clinical outcomes in non-diabetic patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) has not been fully elucidated. We evaluated the combined effect of admission glucose and HbA1c values on long-term clinical outcomes in non-diabetic patients with ACS treated with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).Methods and resultsThis was an observational study of 452 consecutive non-diabetic patients with ACS who underwent PCI between January 1997 and December 2006. The patients were assigned to four groups according to the median values of admission glucose and HbA1c. The primary endpoint comprising a composite of all-cause death and non-fatal MI was compared among the four groups. The primary endpoint occurred in 13.3% of the participants during a median follow-up period of 4.7 years. The cumulative incidence rate of primary endpoint significantly differed among the groups (p=0.048). Multivariable Cox regression analysis showed that the combination of elevated admission glucose and HbA1c was independently associated with long-term clinical outcomes.ConclusionsCombined admission glucose and HbA1c values were independently associated with clinical outcomes in non-diabetic patients with ACS treated with PCI

Prevalence of Amiodarone-Induced Thyrotoxicosis and Associated Risk Factors in Japanese Patients

Amiodarone is a widely used agent for life-threatening arrhythmias. Although amiodarone-induced thyrotoxicosis (AIT) is a major adverse effect that can cause recurrence of arrhythmias and exacerbation of heart failure, risk factors for AIT among amiodarone-treated Japanese patients have not been elucidated. Here, we investigated the prevalence and predictive factors for AIT. The study subjects were 225 patients treated with amiodarone between 2008 and 2012, who were euthyroid before amiodarone therapy. All patients with AIT were diagnosed by measurement of thyroid hormones and ultrasonography. Among the 225 subjects, 13 patients (5.8%) developed AIT and all the patients were classified as Type 2 AIT. Baseline features of patients with AIT were not different from those who did not develop AIT, except for age (AIT, 55.1 ± 13.8, non-AIT, 68.1 ± 12.0 years, P<0.001). Multivariate analyses using the Cox proportional hazard model identified age as the sole determinant of AIT (hazard ratio: 0.927, 95% confidence interval: 0.891–0.964). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis identified age of 63.5 years as the cutoff value for AIT with sensitivity of 70.3% and specificity of 69.2%. In summary, this study showed that the prevalence of AIT is 5.8% in Japanese patients treated with amiodarone and that young age is a risk factor for AIT