Open-architecture Implementation of Fragment Molecular Orbital Method for Peta-scale Computing

We present our perspective and goals on highperformance computing for nanoscience in accordance with the global trend toward "peta-scale computing." After reviewing our results obtained through the grid-enabled version of the fragment molecular orbital method (FMO) on the grid testbed by the Japanese Grid Project, National Research Grid Initiative (NAREGI), we show that FMO is one of the best candidates for peta-scale applications by predicting its effective performance in peta-scale computers. Finally, we introduce our new project constructing a peta-scale application in an open-architecture implementation of FMO in order to realize both goals of highperformance in peta-scale computers and extendibility to multiphysics simulations.Comment: 6 pages, 9 figures, proceedings of the 2nd IEEE/ACM international workshop on high performance computing for nano-science and technology (HPCNano06

Young athlete with sudden cardiac arrest treated with therapeutic hypothermia

Reported herein is a coronary anomaly that occurred in a young adolescent athlete who presented with cardiopulmonary arrest. The patient was resuscitated and treated with therapeutic hypothermia. The patient had no associated neurological complications at follow up. Enhanced computed tomography of the heart indicated an anomalous left main coronary artery originating from the right coronary sinus and coursing between the aorta and the pulmonary artery. The patient underwent surgical intervention with coronary artery bypass grafting to prevent symptom recurrence.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/100297/1/ped12144.pd

Multi-physics Extension of OpenFMO Framework

OpenFMO framework, an open-source software (OSS) platform for Fragment Molecular Orbital (FMO) method, is extended to multi-physics simulations (MPS). After reviewing the several FMO implementations on distributed computer environments, the subsequent development planning corresponding to MPS is presented. It is discussed which should be selected as a scientific software, lightweight and reconfigurable form or large and self-contained form.Comment: 4 pages with 11 figure files, to appear in the Proceedings of ICCMSE 200

Adhesion of aerosol deposition traces targeted for flexible electronics applications

•Emergence of wearable electronics - from medical to consumer products. •Requirement: To realise conductive traces on flexible substrates. •Common printing techniques: screen printing and inkjet printing. •Aerosol deposition (AD)1 is an emerging potential technology as it offers room temperature deposition. •From literature others have used AD to deposit metal base layers onto flexible substrates. To the authors’ best knowledge, there has been no work reported on the deposition of copper onto flexible substrates. •Copper is an attractive option as it is relatively cheap compared to other metals (eg. silver)

Impact of the omicron phase on a highly advanced medical facility in Japan

BackgroundEight waves of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic have been observed in Japan. This retrospective study was conducted to clarify the clinical characteristics of pediatric COVID-19 patients.MethodsWe studied 121 patients admitted to the Jichi Children's Medical Center Tochigi between April 2020 and March 2023. Incidence of pediatric COVID-19 in Tochigi Prefecture was used to examine hospitalization and severe illness rates.ResultsThe mean age of the patients was 3 years and 8 months. One hundred and eleven patients (91.7%) were hospitalized after January 2022 (after the 6th wave), when the Omicron strain became endemic in Japan. Convulsions occurred in 30 patients (24.8%), all of whom were admitted after the 6th wave. Twenty-three of the 30 patients had no underlying disease. Eleven patients (9.1%) were diagnosed with acute encephalopathy. One patient died due to hemorrhagic shock and encephalopathy syndrome and two had sequelae after the 6th wave. The patient who died due to encephalopathy had hypercytokinemia. In the Tochigi Prefecture, the number of pediatric COVID-19 patients increased after the 6th wave, but the hospitalization rate declined. The rate of severe illness did not change before the end of 5th and after the 6th wave.ConclusionAlthough the rate of severe illness in patients with pediatric COVID-19 did not increase after the 6th wave, some patients had complicated critical illnesses. Systemic inflammatory reaction was considered to have been associated with the severe encephalopathy

Association between white blood cell count and diabetes in relation to triglycerides-to-HDL cholesterol ratio in a Japanese population: The Nagasaki Islands study

Although our previous study found that diabetes combined with a high serum triglycerides to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (TG-HDL) ratio constitutes a risk for atherosclerosis and chronic kidney disease (CKD), the association, in terms of TG-HDL ratio, between diabetes and white blood cell (WBC) count, which is an independent risk factor for atherosclerosis, has not been clarified. To investigate this association, we conducted a cross-sectional study of 3,998 Japanese subjects aged 30-89 years undergoing a general health check. We investigated the associations between WBC count and diabetes for all subjects, who were divided into tertiles according to TG-HDL level. Independent of classical cardiovascular risk factors, WBC count of both men and women was positively associated with diabetes combined with high but not with low TG-HDL. The multivariable odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs) of 1SD (standard deviation) increment in WBC count (1,538/μL for men, 1,382/μL for women) for high TG-HDL diabetes and low TG-HDL diabetes were 1.39 (95%CI: 1.04-1.85) and 0.88 (95%CI: 0.66-1.19) for men, and 1.83 (95%CI: 1.45-2.33) and 0.91 (95%CI: 0.64-1.29) for women, respectively. In conclusion, for both men and women, WBC count is associated with high TG-HDL diabetes but not with low TG-HDL diabetes. These findings suggest that measuring WBC count is clinically relevant for estimating the risk of atherosclerosis and CKD in patients with diabetes categorized according to TG-HDL ratio

Association of serum gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) and diabetes with triglycerides-to-HDL cholesterol ratio in Japanese subjects: The Nagasaki Study

Background: Although we reported in a previous study that diabetes with a high serum triglycerides to high-density lipoproteincholesterol (TG-HDL) ratio constitutes a risk for atherosclerosis, associations in terms of TG-HDL ratio between diabetes and gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT), which is also known as an independent risk factor for atherosclerosis, have not yet been clarified. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that a positive association between GGT and diabetes may be confined to high TG-HDL. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of 2,302 Japanese subjects who were undergoing a general health check in 2014. All subjects were divided into TG-HDL level tertiles and serum GGT and diabetes status were investigated. Results: Of 207 diabetes patients identified in this study, 94 had high TG-HDL, 63 intermediate TG-HDL, and 50 low TG-HDL. Independent of classical cardiovascular risk factors, serum GGT showed a positive association with diabetes in patients with high TG-HDL, but not in patients with intermediate and low TG-HDL diabetes. The multivariable adjusted odds ratios (OR) and 95% coincidence intervals (95%CI) of diabetes for 1 standard deviation (SD) increment of GGT were 1.64 (95%CI: 1.16-2.31) for high TG-HDL, 1.46 (95%CI: 0.95-2.26) for intermediate TG-HDL, and 1.04 (95%CI: 0.60-1.79) for low TG-HDL diabetes. Conclusion: Serum GGT is positively associated with diabetes in patients with high TG-HDL but not with intermediate or low TG-HDL diabetes. This finding may prove to be an efficient tool for estimating atherosclerotic risk in diabetes patients

Body mass index and triglyceride-to-HDL-cholesterol ratio in relation to risk of diabetes: The Nagasaki Islands study

Body mass index (BMI) is well known as an independent risk factor for insulin resistance. In addition, lower BMI and lower insulin levels are recognized as specific characteristics of Asian diabetes patients. Since the triglyceride-to-HDL-cholesterol ratio (TG-HDL) is positively associated with insulin level, but inversely associated with insulin sensitivity, we supposed that diabetes combined with high but not with low TG-HDL might be positively associated with BMI. We therefore conducted a cross-sectional study of 2,431 Japanese subjects (905 men and 1,526 women) aged 30-79 years, who underwent a general health check, to investigate associations between BMI, diabetes and its subtypes that we defined on the basis of TG-HDL levels, which in turn were categorized according to sex-specific tertiles. Among the 172 diabetic patients identified in the study group, 45 showed low TG-HDL and 82 high TG-HDL. We found a significant inverse association between low-TG-HDL diabetes and BMI, and a significant positive association between high-TG-HDL diabetes and BMI. The multivariable-adjusted odds ratio and 95%CI for a 1SD increment in BMI (3.03 kg/m2 for men and 3.44 kg/m2 for women) for low-TG-HDL diabetes was 0.53 (95%CI: 0.36-0.77) and 1.57 (95%CI: 1.24-2.01) for high-TG-HDL diabetes. These findings demonstrated that for Japanese subjects associations between diabetes and BMI are strongly influenced by the TG-HDL status. Since a previous study of ours found that diabetes combined with high TG-HDL ratios constitutes a risk for atherosclerosis, these findings may serve as an effective tool for estimating risk of atherosclerosis for diabetes patients

Association between Epstein-Barr virus serological reactivation and psychological distress: a cross-sectional study of Japanese community-dwelling older adults

Reactivation of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is associated with the etiopathogenesis of a broad spectrum of diseases. This study aimed to investigate the association between psychological distress and EBV serological reactivation among community-dwelling older people and assess the role of sex differences in this association. This population-based cross-sectional survey was conducted among individuals who underwent annual health checkups (N = 2,821; median age 72.4 years). EBV serological reactivation was defined as elevation of EBV early antigen immunoglobulin G titers, and psychological distress was defined as Kessler 6 scores ≥5. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to calculate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for EBV serological reactivation and psychological distress. EBV serological reactivation and psychological distress were detected in 16.4% and 8.7% of participants, respectively. Women accounted for 71% (328/463) of those with EBV serological reactivation. Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed psychological distress was not significantly associated with EBV serological reactivation among all participants (OR 1.31, 95% CI: 0.95, 1.82; P = 0.102). A sex-stratified multivariable analysis showed a positive association among women (OR 1.45, 95% CI: 1.01, 2.08; P = 0.043), but no association among men. EBV serological reactivation was independently associated with psychological distress in community-dwelling older women. The sex difference in our results warrants further investigation to clarify the physiological mechanisms underlying the association