Design Record Graph and Axiomatic Design for Creative Design Education

AbstractThe authors have been offering a graduate level design course at the University of Tokyo. The students form groups of about 5 members to identify their own design goals and construct creative solutions to meet the product functional requirements (FRs). The course teaches Design Record Graph (DRG), a network diagram that starts with the product FR that divides into a number of sub-functions. The division continues until all functional elements are identified, and when every element functional requirement maps to a single element design parameter (DP), the design meets the independence axiom. The projects often start with heavily coupled designs that gradually turn into clean solutions towards their finalized design. The graph expression is easier for design students to get started with functional decomposition without having to work with design matrices

Estimation of radiant temperature and emissivity of automobile's surface using infrared thermography

The purpose of this study is to propose a method to determine of surface temperature and emissivity of automobiles. We observed the radiation spectral properties of the surface of automobiles. On the basis of these data, we propose a method to determine the surface temperature and emissivity of automobiles by compensating the reflection of radiant temperature observed by infrared thermography

Successful low-energy cardioversion using a novel biodegradable gel pad: Feasibility of treating postoperative atrial fibrillation in animals

ObjectivePostoperative atrial fibrillation is one of the most frequent complications of cardiac surgery. We developed a novel biodegradable gel pad consisting of biopolymers that directly attach to the myocardium by electrostatic interaction. The present study examines the feasibility and effectiveness of low-energy internal cardioversion using these pads.MethodsThe hearts of 6 pigs were exposed through a median sternotomy under general anesthesia, and 2 monopolar pacing wires were placed on the left pulmonary veins (chest open group). Two biodegradable cardioversion gel pads were placed on the right appendage and the left atria without suturing. All wires were extruded through the skin and secured with a suture. Sustained atrial fibrillation was induced by burst-pacing from the pulmonary veins in continuous 20-ms cycles. Shock intensity started at 0.5 J, and the energy level was increased in 0.5-J increments until cardioversion occurred. This protocol was repeated 5 times per pig. In a second group of 6 pigs (chest closed group), the epicardial cardioversion electrode gel pads and pacing wire electrodes were positioned as described above. Shock intensity was started at 0.5 J. If the shock was unsuccessful, the energy level was increased in 0.5-J increments until 2 consecutive cardioversions were achieved at a single energy level. At postoperative days 1, 3, 5, and 7, the defibrillation threshold was determined with the chest closed. At postoperative day 10, the cardioversion wires were removed. At predetermined time intervals, the heart was reexposed and the extent of degradation in vivo was visually evaluated and histologically assessed after sacrifice.ResultsAll pigs with induced atrial fibrillation were cardioverted to sinus rhythm on the determined postoperative day. The mean energy and lead impedance in the chest open group were 0.65 ± 0.23 J and 97.6 ± 5.52 Ω, respectively, and the overall values of mean energy and lead impedance in the chest closed group were 1.67 ± 1.00 J and 75.9 ± 13.3Ω, respectively. No complications were observed after wire removal. The gel pads became degraded and decreased in thickness, and signs of mild inflammation were evident on the gel pad. However, the gel pads did not elicit significant severe inflammatory reactions according to both gross and histologic assessments at 1 month after the surgery.ConclusionAtrial cardioversion using novel biodegradable gel pads that are easily affixed may afford a straightforward and effective treatment for atrial fibrillation after cardiac surgery

Successful low – energy cardioversion using a novel biodegradable gel pad: feasibility of treating postoperative atrial fibrillation in animals

取得学位 : 博士（医学）, 学位授与番号 : 医博甲第1904号 , 学位授与年月日 : 平成19年12月31日, 学位授与大学 : 金沢大学, 主査教授 : 太田 哲生, 副査教授 : 山岸 正和 , 稲葉 英

Molecular Mechanisms of the Whole DNA Repair System: A Comparison of Bacterial and Eukaryotic Systems

DNA is subjected to many endogenous and exogenous damages. All organisms have developed a complex network of DNA repair mechanisms. A variety of different DNA repair pathways have been reported: direct reversal, base excision repair, nucleotide excision repair, mismatch repair, and recombination repair pathways. Recent studies of the fundamental mechanisms for DNA repair processes have revealed a complexity beyond that initially expected, with inter- and intrapathway complementation as well as functional interactions between proteins involved in repair pathways. In this paper we give a broad overview of the whole DNA repair system and focus on the molecular basis of the repair machineries, particularly in Thermus thermophilus HB8

Stromal interaction molecule 1 haploinsufficiency causes maladaptive response to pressure overload

Stromal interaction molecule 1 (STIM1), an endo/sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ sensor, has been shown to control a Ca2+- dependent signal that promotes cardiac hypertrophy. However, whether STIM1 has adaptive role that helps to protect against cardiac overload stress remains unknown. We hypothesized that STIM1 deficiency causes a maladaptive response to pressure overload stress. We investigated STIM1 heterozygous KO (STIM1(+/)-) mice hearts, in which STIM1 protein levels decreased to 27% of wild-type (WT) with no compensatory increase in STIM2. Under stress-free conditions, no significant differences were observed in electrocardiographic and echocardiographic parameters or blood pressure between STIM1(+/)-and WT mice. However, when STIM1(+/)-mice were subjected to transverse aortic constriction (TAC), STIM1(+/-) mice had a higher mortality rate than WT mice. The TAC-induced increase in the heart weight to body weight ratio (mean mg/g +/- standard error of the mean) was significantly inhibited in STIM1(+/-) mice (WT sham, 4.12 +/- 0.14; WT TAC, 6.23 +/- 0.40; STIM1(+/-) sham, 4.53 +/- 0.16; STIM1(+/-) TAC, 4.63 +/- 0.08). Reverse transcription- polymerase chain reaction analysis of the left ventricles of TAC-treated STIM1(+/-) mice showed inhibited induction of cardiac fetal genes, including those encoding brain and atrial natriuretic proteins. Western blot analysis showed upregulated expression of transient receptor potential channel 1 (TRPC1) in TAC-treated WT mice, but suppressed expression in TAC-treated STIM1(+/-) mice. Taken together, the hearts of STIM1 haploinsufficient mice had a superficial resemblance to the WT phenotype under stress-free conditions; however, STIM1 haploinsufficient mice showed a maladaptive response to cardiac pressure overload

Survey of Period Variations of Superhumps in SU UMa-Type Dwarf Novae. II: The Second Year (2009-2010)

As an extension of the project in Kato et al. (2009, arXiv:0905.1757), we collected times of superhump maxima for 61 SU UMa-type dwarf novae mainly observed during the 2009-2010 season. The newly obtained data confirmed the basic findings reported in Kato et al. (2009): the presence of stages A-C, as well as the predominance of positive period derivatives during stage B in systems with superhump periods shorter than 0.07 d. There was a systematic difference in period derivatives for systems with superhump periods longer than 0.075 d between this study and Kato et al. (2009). We suggest that this difference is possibly caused by the relative lack of frequently outbursting SU UMa-type dwarf novae in this period regime in the present study. We recorded a strong beat phenomenon during the 2009 superoutburst of IY UMa. The close correlation between the beat period and superhump period suggests that the changing angular velocity of the apsidal motion of the elliptical disk is responsible for the variation of superhump periods. We also described three new WZ Sge-type objects with established early superhumps and one with likely early superhumps. We also suggest that two systems, VX For and EL UMa, are WZ Sge-type dwarf novae with multiple rebrightenings. The O-C variation in OT J213806.6+261957 suggests that the frequent absence of rebrightenings in very short-Porb objects can be a result of sustained superoutburst plateau at the epoch when usual SU UMa-type dwarf novae return to quiescence preceding a rebrightening. We also present a formulation for a variety of Bayesian extension to traditional period analyses.Comment: 63 pages, 77 figures, 1 appendix, Accepted for publication in PASJ, data correctio